The Huntress
by MahinaFable
Summary: Jane Arc had always dreamed of being a Huntress. While at Beacon Academy, the unthinkable happens, and Jane learns that real strength is finding the will to put yourself together again. (Genderbent AU) Content warning: Story concerns coping with the trauma of sexual assault. Story rated 'M' for violence, language, and sexual situations.
1. Chapter 1

**The Huntress**

**Author's Note: From the onset, let me just state that this is more of a therapy session for me to work out some trauma, one that my friend convinced me to publish. As such, this story can get pretty intense, so be prepared for an exploration of coping with trauma. Content warning for violence and sexual assault.**

**[/]**

For as long as she could recall, Jane Arc had wanted to be a Huntress. To her, the defenders of Remnant were magnificent, glorious and glamorous. They stood proudly between the innocent people of Remnant and the twisted, malignant Grimm, and were revered for it. She dreamed of one day standing amongst their number, a world-famous heroine.

And rubbing it in the faces of her father and seven older brothers. At least a little.

Oh, they meant well, of that Jane never had any doubt. But it did become a _little_ stifling when she had eight men keeping an eagle-eyed watch on her so much of the time. While she never considered herself any great beauty, being tall, gangly, and knobby-kneed, there had still been some attention from the boys of her small hometown. The key phrase there was "_had_." Despite her increasingly-annoyed protests, her brothers had developed a habit of scaring off any boy that got too close.

And the overprotectiveness didn't stop there. When she had asked her father to train her to be a Huntress, he had made some vague noises about her "unsuitability" to the profession. Jane didn't buy that for a second. She had kept herself fit, visiting the gym religiously and self-training as much as possible with Crocea Mors, the heirloom sword and shield of the Arc family. Once, she had tried to work around her father by asking one of her brothers to train her instead.

"Why would you bother when you have us around?" he had asked, ruffling her hair as if she were some kind of small child or precocious puppy dog. Frustrated beyond belief, Jane had then called her father, and what brothers were still at home, to watch her train against the pell, to show them that she had the potential to be trained as a Huntress.

She had cut and thrust, parried and blocked, working the pell with sword-and-shield techniques that she had looked up on the CCNet. At the end of her demonstration, she had sheathed her family's sword into the shield and collapsed it, her long blonde hair wild and her fair skin reddened with the exertion. Her big blue eyes gleamed with hopeful anticipation as she waited for their verdict.

They had laughed at her. Her best efforts were little more than an endearing display. Her father had ruffled her hair and called her "adorable," and had no idea why she pushed him away from her and stormed off, alone.

In her room, Jane was at her wit's end. She would be turning seventeen soon, the age when she could go to Beacon, the most prestigious academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses in the world… _if_, and only if, she could pass the entry exam. If her family wouldn't train her properly, then how could she even hope to achieve that?

It was then that she hit onto an idea. It was a dangerous, reckless, _stupid_ idea, but it was an idea that was, as near as the desperate teenage girl could discern, her best chance to realize her dream.

She could fake it.

If she were careful and cunning, Jane could forge transcripts, get accepted to Beacon, and get hands-on access to the best trainers in Remnant. It would be difficult, and frightening, but she had trained too hard to abandon her dream just because her family wouldn't help her.

Jane would become a Huntress, and when she did, she would make sure that her father and brothers understood that she had done so _despite_ them, not because of them.

Despite herself, she was completely shocked when, a few weeks after she had sent in her, er, "_creatively edited_" transcripts, an official response from Beacon Academy came in the mail. She had been accepted. Jane Arc was going to become a Huntress.

She didn't have all that much to pack. She took Crocea Mors, of course, her constant companion. Also, the only weapon she could get her hands on, but still, it was the sentiment that counted. She laced up tall boots that rose over her knees, leaving a bit of leg exposed between the boots and her denim shorts. She wore a pair of belts crossed low over her hips, one to bear the weight of Crocea Mors, and one festooned with pouches to carry medical kits, a firestarter, emergency flares, and other bits and bobs that she thought might be important for a Huntress-in-training to carry on her person. To top it off, she wore her trusty Pumpkin Pete special edition hooded sweatshirt.

Okay, so maybe she didn't look much like a glorious and mighty Huntress, but that's why she was going to school, right?

She hefted a bag over her shoulder, opened the door to her room, and peered left and right down the hallway. There was no way her father or brothers would let her go if they knew what she was planning, so… she kinda, sorta, you know, _didn't_ _tell them_. Jane figured that once she was in Beacon, they couldn't pull her out, so she would call them and tell them what was up once she was safely on the road to her future. She was congratulating herself on her subtlety and sneakiness when she turned a corner in the hallway and ran face-first into her mother.

Jean Arc was a tall, solid, and _imposing_ woman. She had given birth to a good-sized squad of children, and had kept them all in line through main force of personality. Any casual observer would be able to tell that the two were mother and daughter at a glance, though Jean's blonde hair was liberally streaked with gray, a few worry lines creased her face, and she had wide hips and a much heavier bust, all hallmarks of a woman who had borne so many children and raised them all to adulthood.

Jean crossed her arms as she looked at her only daughter. "And where are you going, hmm?"

"Uh… sneaking out to go make out with some boy?" Jane shot her mother a wide, innocent grin.

"I'm sure you'll understand if I don't quite believe you. What's with the bag?"

Jane shrugged. "Just going… camping. With the boy. In the woods. Don't wait up, I'll just - " She tried to wander off, but her mother grabbed her by the hood with the ease of long practice, setting her back down in front of her with an unimpressed huff.

Jean stared at her daughter until the girl cracked.

"Okay, I've got a plan, but you can't tell Dad or the boys," Jane admitted. "I'm, uh… well, I'm going to go to Beacon."

"What?!"

Jane hurried to shush her mother. "Keep it down!" she whispered, looking around to make sure the men in the house weren't coming. "Look… I'm going to go to Beacon Academy."

Her mother arched a single eyebrow. "And how are you going to pull _that_ off?"

She couldn't quite meet her mother's gaze. "I may have… sort of… _exaggerated_ on the application. A little."

"A little, hmm?"

"Mom, you need to listen to me!" Jane said, her tone tempered by her desperate need to _make_ her mother understand. "I _need_ to do this!"

A sad little smile crossed the elder Arc woman's face as she reached out and gently placed her hand on her daughter's cheek. "Jane, dear, you don't understand how dangerous the world is out there. All we're trying to do is to protect you from it."

"But you're _not_ protecting me! You're… you're trapping me!" Frustrated tears welled in Jane's eyes as she gazed at her mother. "How am I ever going to learn to be brave if I never face danger? How am I ever going to know who I truly am if I never put it to the test? How am I ever going to know how great I could be if I never get the chance to get out there and push my limits? Mom, you all think you're protecting me, but you're… you're _crippling_ me, cutting off my wings because you're afraid that I'll fall!"

The tears began to stream freely down her face as Jane and her mother held each other's gaze for a long moment. Finally, Jean sighed, using her thumb to gently brush away the stream of tears falling from her daughter's eye. "Stay here," she told the girl.

After her mother left her, Jane spent a moment trying to get her emotions back under control. Years and years of frustration and curdled resentment had come spilling out of her in that plea to her mother, and now she had no idea what the Arc matriarch was going to do. It would be harder to go if her father and brothers pushed the issue, but ultimately, unless they tried to lock her up like a princess in some tower, they couldn't outright force her to stay.

As she began mentally reviewing the arguments that she could make to try and convince her father to let her go, her mother returned to her, carrying a wooden chest in her arms. "It's been a while," she said, "but while this isn't the best stuff, it's better than nothing."

Before her daughter's astonished eyes, Jean set down the box, opened it, and began pulling out white-enameled steel armor pieces. "Hmm," she mused as she held up a chestpiece. "You may need to pull the straps tight, but this should fit. When you get to Beacon, don't forget to eat lots of protein." She chuckled as she fit the armor onto her daughter, the chestpiece and backplate only fitting by pulling the straps to their tightest. "Mommy's little noodle," she teased.

The familiar tease restored Jane's ability to speak, as she had been rendered mute out of sheer astonishment. "I'm not a noodle," the gripe escaped with the ease of long habit. "Where did you get this from?"

"Your grandmother wanted me to go to a combat academy, just like she did, but it was never for me," Jean told her daughter as she strapped the pauldrons to her daughter's shoulders. She stood back to take in the sight of her daughter in the armor, as the young woman slipped on the vambraces.

"My brave little girl."

"Mom…" Jane didn't have the words as her mother pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Go on, then. I won't tell you to be safe, since I know you won't be, but be careful. We all love you so much, Jane."

Jane sniffled. "I love you all too. I promise I'll write, and when I come home, I'll be a Huntress."

[/]

So, her first day of Hero School wasn't going all that great. She'd been so nervous about faking her way into Beacon that she ended up puking all over another girl's boots. It was a real shame, too. Aside from the obvious social faux pas of immediately being dubbed "Vomit Girl," those were some damn fine boots, made of supple leather. Jane genuinely felt bad about ruining them.

But, as she stepped off of the airship and took a good look at what would hopefully be her new home for the next four years, Jane resolved not to let an awkward trip spoil things for her. An honest-to-goodness fireball drew her attention to the courtyard, where a soot-covered short girl in white yelled at another girl who lay miserably in a crater. As the girl in white wandered off, Jane figured that she might as well introduce herself to the unfortunate soul who had managed to one-up her in the field of making bad first impressions.

Up close, the girl looked young, real young, laying in the crater, covered in soot, just in general looking miserable.

"Hello," Jane greeted her fellow student, offering her hand. "Need some help there?"

[/]

Pyrrhus Nikos did his level best to keep from groaning out loud. Though he understood, rationally, that his worldwide fame was just that, _worldwide_, some small part of him had hoped that leaving Mistral and attending Beacon Academy would afford him some degree of normalcy.

Fat chance.

He'd been mobbed by fans from the moment he'd arrived at the airport to take the airship to Beacon, and it had been _unrelenting_ ever since. He'd lost track of the number of autographs he'd signed, in books, on posters of himself, or on boxes of that gods-be-damned Pumpkin Pete cereal. Pyrrhus wished he'd never done _that_ particular endorsement.

The fangirls were just the worst. The media dubbed it "Pyrrhumania," the instant riot of hysterical, screaming young women and girls that occurred whenever a critical mass of fangirls recognized him. Fortunately, Beacon was serious enough business to keep things comparatively orderly, but there had still been lots of women, and quite a few men as well, to approach him with… _offers._

A lot of young men in his position would have been thrilled to basically have their pick of whatever girl - or _girls_ \- they would have wanted, but Pyrrhus's mother had ensured that her son understood the transient nature of fame.

"You're a handsome boy, to be sure," his mother had told him. "But looks can fade in time. You're a champion, but you'll have to stop tournament fighting when you become a Huntsman. Other champions will arise in time. Your athletic prowess is truly impressive, but you are never more than one crippling injury from it being damaged or lost forever. And I don't think I need to remind you why someone only attracted to your fortune is no one worth considering at all."

"Looks, fame, skill, money… all of those can be lost to you," she had said. "And if things should come to that, the lover who sought you for those things will leave you as well. But what can't be taken from you is this," his mother had told him as she laid her hand onto his chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath. "Your heart, your soul, the essence of who Pyrrhus Nikos is as a man. Find the one who sees _that_, who falls in love with the man behind the legend, and I promise you that you will be happy with them. As for the rest? Who has time for trifling people?"

Pyrrhus had taken his mother's words to heart, even as others had made offers of varying… intensity. When Weiss Schnee had approached him while he was preparing his armor in the locker room, he had briefly hoped that someone of similar fame, if greater wealth, would have understood. And to an extent, she had.

"But I'm sure that with the two of us working in tandem, we could take this school by storm," the short girl said, unable to resist running a finger down Pyrrhus's bare chest. "Think of it as the ultimate… power couple."

Ah. So, fame, prestige, and prowess, then. More's the pity. Throughout her entire pitch, Weiss Schnee had offered no indication that she viewed him as anything other than a vehicle for her social and professional advancement, albeit one in an appealing package. No indication that that "power couple," as she called it, would be based on anything real, anything lasting.

He tuned out her painfully forward flirting, if one could call a cold, almost transaction-like offer "flirting," and scanned the room. A girl caught his eye. Not an unusual occurrence in and of itself - Pyrrhus was, after all, still a teenager - but there was something odd about this girl. She was tall, nearly as tall as he was, willowy with long, wild blonde hair. The girl was more _pretty_ or _cute_ than outright beautiful, though she did have quite the pair of legs on her…

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Weiss asked from next to him.

"Not really, no," he said absently.

Pyrrhus ignored the indignant squawks coming from the outraged heiress - and wasn't _that_ an attractive character trait - and continued to watch the odd, armored blonde. She wandered around, occasionally checking a slip of paper and checking it against the numbered lockers along the wall. She had big, deep blue eyes that were wide open with guileless interest as she took in the room.

Weiss's tirade had wound down to a low grumble as the blonde sort of ambled her way in front of them. "Um, hello," the girl said, with a wave.

Pyrrhus braced himself for the inevitable pitch, wondering what approach this new girl would take.

"Would you mind moving a little? You're kind of in front of my locker."

Both Pyrrhus and Weiss stared. Out of polite instinct, Pyrrhus shuffled out of the way.

"Thank you," the blonde said as she started fiddling with the lock. "C'mon…"

"Excuse me," Weiss demanded, her arms cross. "Don't you know who this is?"

The new girl turned around quickly, nearly dropping the sheathed sword that she had retrieved from the locker. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't offer my name. I'm Jane, Jane Arc, future Huntress and defender of Remnant!" She offered a hand with a wide smile.

"Not _you_, you -"

Pyrrhus ignored Weiss and took the offered hand. "Pleased to meet you, Jane. I'm Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus Nikos."

Instead of a flood of recognition, or worse, a burst of hysterical screaming, Jane just shook his hand and then held it out to Weiss. "And you are?"

"Weiss Schnee," she took her hand absently. "Don't you know who this is?" she repeated, referring to Pyrrhus.

Jane gave Pyrrhus the once over, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "A shirtless boy?" she offered.

Pyrrhus flushed as well. "Oh, where are my manners?" He reached down to pick up his bronze and leather cuirass, which bore stylized muscles carved into the metal.

"Do you need a hand buckling that? I'm still getting the hang of my own armor," Jane explained.

Truthfully, no, Pyrrhus had been donning and doffing armor for so long that it was of second nature to him. "Sure, go ahead," he accepted her offer.

Weiss was far from the only jealous girl to look on as Jane went about fixing latches and whatnot.

"See, the thing with this is to get the armor fitted _to_ you, so you don't have to do as much adjusting when putting it on," Pyrrhus explained, standing as he pulled his trademark blood red cape around his shoulders and latching the clasp.

"Oh. Mine is hand-me down. Family heirloom and all that."

"Well, after Initiation, we can get it fitted to you at the smith," he said. "It'll save you a lot of time in the long run. You said it's inherited?"

"Yeah, same as my sword and shield. My grandmother was a famous Huntress. My dad and four of my brothers are Huntsmen too but -"

Weiss overcame her shock to butt in. "Excuse me, what is happening here?"

Jane blinked. "A conversation?" She turned back to Pyrrhus. "Like I was saying, it's a family tradition."

"Well, it's good to uphold your family name," Pyrrhus said with a smile. "Have you put any thought to who you would want on your team?"

"I dunno. I guess I'll just go along with the flow. Everyone here is bound to be great, right?"

"Well, maybe you and I will end up partnered."

"_Excuse me!_" Weiss insisted. "What makes you think that you're at all qualified to be _his_ partner?"

Jane turned back to her, a bit annoyed. "Well, he asked me."

"This is Pyrrhus Nikos!"

"Yeah, I heard him."

"He's famous!"

Jane just shrugged helplessly. "Never heard of him."

Pyrrhus smiled widely as Weiss began to gesticulate, her sheer outrage nearly palpable. "You've never heard of _the_ Pyrrhus Nikos?! He's won the Mistral Tournament a record-setting four times!"

"Neat. Never heard of that, either."

"_He's on the front of every box of Pumpkin Pete's!_"

At that, Jane turned to Pyrrhus, astonished. "That was you? I thought that was a CG render!"

Pyrrhus raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"

"Well…" she scratched her head, a little embarrassed. "I thought it was some artist rendition of, like, a superhero or something."

The champion's laughter rang through the locker room. He had never been more grateful to do that stupid cereal endorsement. "Nope, I'm afraid I'm just a guy with a spear and a shield."

"So, why shouldn't we be partners?"

As Pyrrhus was about to remark that there was nothing at all to suggest that they shouldn't, and Weiss was about to explode from sheer envious wrath, Jane noticed the two sisters that she'd met the previous day, and waved them over. "Oh hey, there's Ruby and Yang! I met them yesterday, they're cool people."

"Oh great, more mediocrities." Weiss pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, her chances of getting Pyrrhus alone again now utterly ruined.

[/]

"How could you have let her run off to Beacon!" Guillaume Arc ran a hand over his face as he stared at his wife.

For her part, Jean was entirely unrepentant. "She needed to do it, Gil. She felt so… stifled here. I told you, I told you before that you and the boys were smothering her, but did you listen?"

"How did she even do it?"

"Well, she said she… _exaggerated _her transcripts. Still, we both know how hard she was training before hand. Jane has a lot to learn, I'm sure, but she can catch up."

"Please tell me you at least unlocked her Aura before she left," Guillaume sighed, collapsing heavily into his chair.

"Her what?"

Gil's head shot up sharply. "Her _Aura,_ Jean! The power of her spirit! It protects Huntsmen from harm, heals them from wounds, and empowers them to perform feats beyond other men. Without it, she'll be maimed, killed!"

"Then why didn't you do it years ago?!"

Guillaume jumped to his feet. "Because she was supposed to be safe _here,_ with _us!_" He let us his frustration with a heavy sigh. "Well, it is of little consequence. When it becomes apparent that her Aura has not been unlocked, our daughter's falsehood will be revealed, and Ozpin will send her back home."

Jean frowned. "You don't think she can do it?"

"Jean, the Initiation for Beacon Academy involves launching prospective students from a cliff."

"_What?!"_

Guillaume spread his hands in supplication. "Well, if you and your daughter had been more open about her plan, perhaps I would have been able to share such knowledge with you."

"Well, if you hadn't convinced your daughter that you were about ready to lock her up in a tower, maybe she would have felt that she could tell you things!"

After a long moment, Guillaume sat back down. "We should discuss this further when Jane returns. I… suppose that I _have_ been a bit… overbearing."

Jean crossed her arms. "And what if she makes it past the Initiation?"

He looked at her, head canted in skeptical confusion. "Jean, they _launch the students off a cliff._ Do you really think that Ozpin would be reckless enough to do so to a student without Aura? Or that our daughter would truly be foolish enough not to come clean when she sees her would-be fellows take to the skies?"

[/]

Jane fell through the air, fairly convinced that she was going to die. She had no idea how the professors, and her fellow students, had been so casual about the whole, you know, forcible ejection from a cliff thing, but whatever secret technique they had, Jane knew for sure she was lacking.

Maybe if she flapped her arms as hard as she could?

Alas, all the frantic flapping in the world did nothing to allow her to halt or even control her freefall.

As she passed the treeline, Jane prepared herself for her glorious Huntress career to come to an abrupt end as a splatter in the Emerald Forest.

_Twang!_

Against all odds, a bronze spear caught right in her hood, pinning her to a tree. She was saved! Jane was now trapped high up in a tree, but she was going to live!

"Thank you!" she called out to her unseen savior. She tried to reach up and pull the spear free, but it was lodged _deep_ into the wood of the tree. When she looked down and saw just how high up she still was, Jane rethought the wisdom of prying out the spear.

She hung there for a while, unsure as to what she should do. Whoever threw the spear would eventually want it back, right? After a few moments in the tree, Jane perked up to hear a rustling sound from the foliage. Weiss Schnee stomped out of the woods, a cross expression on her face. The girl in white came to an abrupt halt as she looked up and locked eyes with her.

"Uh, hello." Jane waved weakly. "Friends?"

Without uttering a single word, Weiss turned around and stomped off once more.

"Hey, where are you going? You can't just leave me here!"

Evidently, Weiss could indeed just leave her there. Jane pouted. And swayed a little. She may have whined a bit as well. After another moment, she heard stirring again.

"Hello?"

The tall, bronze and red figure of Pyrrhus Nikos erupted from the foliage. He visibly relaxed as he saw Jane swinging by her hood. "Hello again," he called happily. "Care to team up, or are you just going to be… hanging out here?"

Jane crossed her arms and looked away, not willing to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging the pun. She peeked back, seeing the wide, earnest grin on the young man's face, and finally relented. "Okay, okay, let's go. Are you going to get a ladder to reach your spear or -"

She gasped as the spear pulled itself from the tree, sending her plummeting towards the forest floor. Jane grunted as she felt strong, warm arms envelop her, well before she hit the ground. She opened up her eyes to see Pyrrhus grinning mischievously at her.

"Just dropping in?"

They stared at each other for a long moment, a light blush dusting Jane's cheeks. Finally, she smacked his armored chest. "Pyrrhus, that was an _awful _pun!"

He shrugged and set her down. "What can I say, it's one of my many talents."

"Well, we're doomed."

Pyrrhus laughed. "Wow, that's harsh."

"We should start looking for the relic," Jane did a quick look of their surroundings. "So… this way?"

The pair set off through the forest, Pyrrhus in the lead. He pushed his way through the undergrowth. As he shoved past a particularly stubborn branch, it bent back in place behind him, catching Jane right in the face, sending the girl sprawling to the ground with a cry.

"Jane! Are you all right?"

The girl sat up, a cut across the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, I'm okay. Gave me a good bashing is all."

Pyrrhus gallantly offered his hand, pulling his partner to her feet. He frowned as he realized that the shallow cut across Jane's face hadn't sealed itself up yet. "Hey, Jane, why hasn't your Aura healed your cut yet?"

"My what?"

Pyrrhus stared at her as if she had sprouted a second head. "Your… Aura. You know, Aura?"

Apparently realizing that she'd made some sort of faux pas, Jane tried to laugh it off. "Ah, yes, Aura, of course. I'm just, um, conserving it. In case of trouble. Yes."

"...You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"

Jane slumped. "Nope."

"How are you not dead?" he asked her.

"Just, uh… just lucky, I guess."

Pyrrhus continued to stare at her, wide-eyed. Somehow, this girl had been accepted to Beacon without having her Aura unlocked, without even knowing what it _was_. This girl, either through ignorance, courage, or some strange combination of both, had volunteered to contend with the Grimm with nothing more than hand-me-down, munitions-grade armor and a weapon that was practically a museum piece.

If she pressed on in this manner, Jane Arc was going to die.

That was an outcome that Pyrrhus Nikos was not prepared to accept.

"Listen," he told her, his voice deadly serious. "Aura is a spiritual force, one that is generated by our very souls. People have it. The animals of nature have it. The creatures of Grimm, the antithesis of life, do not. Huntsmen and Huntresses have their Aura unlocked to do battle. Aura can be used to generate a defensive barrier, to heal your wounds, to enhance your strength or mobility, or to empower your strikes. I don't know how you're here without having yours unlocked, but if you are going to stand any chance at all here, you will need it."

He strode over to Jane and put his hand on her chest. She gasped, trying to back away. "Stop it," Pyrrhus said. "I need to feel your heartbeat for this to work." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he began to connect with the girl on a spiritual level. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

As he finished his intonation, he felt the bright spark in the center of Jane's soul. He _reached_ through his feelings, giving that spark a tug with his own Aura. He gasped as that spark burst forth into a raging inferno, burning as bright as the heart of a star. The sheer _magnitude_ of her knocked Pyrrhus Nikos right on his ass. He stared up at Jane as her Aura, pale yellow and white, swirled around her, causing her to glow with an almost celestial light.

"Wow."

At his exhalation, Jane opened her eyes, their deep blue tinted with glowing white. The cut on her face sealed itself instantly before the roiling flames of her Aura died down, followed by the luminous glow that Jane had emitted. "Is… is this normal?" She took note that Pyrrhus was now sitting on the ground a few feet away. "Pyrrhus? Are you okay?"

"Hoo!" Pyrrhus puffed for a second before hauling himself back to his feet. "It usually takes a bit to unlock someone's Aura, but you… you've got a _lot_ of it."

"Well, that's good, right?" Jane asked. Her wide blue eyes were entirely ignorant of just how much of a miracle she was to Pyrrhus in that moment.

"Yeah," he finally said. "That's very good."

[/]

Jane looked around the dorm room of the newly-formed Team JNPR. She had had… quite the day. She'd been hurled off a cliff, formally partnered up with Pyrrhus Nikos, had the inner power of her very soul released, engaged in wild battles against the Grimm, and finally, been named the leader of Team JNPR.

Wow.

She couldn't wait to write her mother and tell her that she'd done it. Against all odds, she, Jane Arc, was now on the road to becoming a Huntress. Of course, there were other complications that she hadn't quite considered, namely the fact that the team dorm rooms were co-ed.

"What's wrong?" The fellow woman on her team, Nora Valkyrie, flopped heavily onto Jane's bed with the same unrestricted enthusiasm that she exhibited in every aspect of her life. Jane shrugged as she turned to look at the hyper hammer wielder.

"I grew up with… a lot of brothers," she started. "I don't know how they'd react to me sharing a room with a pair of boys." Jane thought for a brief moment. "On second thought, I know _exactly_ how they'd react."

"Well," Nora began, her tone sly. "They aren't here, are they?"

As they watched, the door to the bathroom opened, letting out steam from the shower. Pyrrhus stepped out, a towel wrapped around his waist. He had another towel to dry off his hair, his glistening muscles shifting in fascinating ways. Ren, in a similar state of undress, moved towards the shower.

"Hey," Pyrrhus held an arm out to halt him. "I've got some endorsement deals for men's hygiene supplies, deodorant, aftershave, the works. If you need some for free, I can…"

As the boys discussed the free loot that they could use, their female counterparts were staring at them. Nora noticed that her new friend was also enjoying the show. "Just saying, there's no rule saying we can't take advantage of the… fringe benefits."

Jane turned bright red and tried to hide her face behind her fists. That didn't mean that she didn't still peer over them, unable or unwilling to stop looking at the show that the boys were unintentionally putting on. She began giggling helplessly, and after a second, Nora joined in as well.

'Oh gods," Pyrrhus sighed. "The girls are giggling."

"I wouldn't put too much stock in that. Nora always gets kind of giggly in the evenings."

"Does this have any correlation to you going into or out of the shower?"

Ren raised an eyebrow, confused. "I think so, now that you mention it. Why would that have anything to do with it?"

Pyrrhus facepalmed, then turned to the girls. "You enjoying the show over there?"

At being addressed directly by a boy in that state of undress, Jane's willpower lost out, and she hid under the blanket with an embarrassed "meep!" Lie Ren was similarly chagrined as he put the pieces together in his head, practically blurring in his haste to disappear into the bathroom, slamming the door closed.

Pyrrhus locked eyes with the only teammate who hadn't hid out of embarrassment. "What , you're not going to run off 'meeping' like a bike horn?"

"How dare you!" Jane protested weakly from under her blanket. Her new friends ignored her.

"Nah," Nora replied, reaching for a magazine and patting the hidden lump that was her Fearless Leader. "Just don't expect a show from this side of the room."

Jane's face burned so hard that she feared she'd set the blanket alight.

[/]

It didn't take long for Jane to decide that Cardin Winchester was going to be a problem. It wasn't just the way he bashed her around in combat class - that was to be expected - but the lewd insinuations that he would make as she picked herself up off the floor.

"On the floor and panting for breath," he smirked as Goodwitch called an end to the fight. "Seems that's the only thing you're good for. If Nikos ain't satisfying, you can always come to me, sweetheart."

"Mr. Winchester, I remind you - _again_ \- to keep your interactions with your fellow students professional and respectful. If I have to warn you again, there _will_ be consequences." Goodwitch pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she began to break down Jane's mistakes in the fight.

"I really will break his legs," Pyrrhus, up in the stands, ground out between gritted teeth. Though a generally well-mannered young man, the champion _hated_ Cardin with an intensity that bordered on the holy in its zealotry. It wasn't that he consistently beat Jane in the class that infuriated him - though some part of his masculine instinct _yearned_ to get in that ring himself and start dismantling the tall man beating on the slender woman - but Cardin's behavior was nothing short of disgraceful.

The man was a bigot to Faunus. He was a thug, using his size and strength to push around other people. As a "leader," he ruled through main brute force, in contrast to the clever stratagems of a Jane Arc, or the empathetic charisma of a Ruby Rose. He was an open chauvinist, who either didn't see how his attitude sent women scrambling away from him, or, and this seemed more likely to Pyrrhus's reckoning, he just didn't care.

He was also the prime suspect in starting a rumor that Pyrrhus had chosen Jane as his partner due to an exchange of sexual favors. The rumors had spread to such an extent that Pyrrhus had had to field a very uncomfortable phone call from his agent to clarify that nothing inappropriate had gone down. Cardin was the prime suspect, but not the only one. As Jane was getting changed back into her school uniform in the locker room, Pyrrhus took a moment to go visit suspect number two, and sat down next to Weiss Schnee.

Weiss saw Pyrrhus approaching, and quickly made to ensure that her hair was neat and orderly. "Why, hello Pyrrhus," she practically purred. "How are you today?"

"Weiss. Do you know anything about those rumors about Jane?"

She frowned at him. "Why would you think that _I _would -"

"Because you're jealous, Weiss!" Pyrrhus interrupted, only barely restraining himself from shouting at her. He exhaled quickly, regaining control of his temper.

Weiss stood her ground. "I'll have you know that I have far better things to do with my time than spread idle gossip, especially about _her_. But I can tell you that those sorts of rumors were bound to happen. I don't know why she's even here, or how. She doesn't belong here. I know it. _You_ know it! So when we see her flailing around like a clown in combat class, and we all saw you pluck her out of the sky to be your partner, they're going to have questions, and fill that void with whatever makes sense to them. What do you even see in her?"

Pyrrhus scowled at her. "Jane has _so much_ potential, more than I ever had, and the infuriating part is how no one else can see it." Weiss scoffed in disbelief, and Pyrrhus scowled, losing his temper once more.

"I was actively _avoiding_ you in the Forest, did you know that?" he admitted.

"W-what?"

He nodded. "I avoided you because I would have _hated_ to be partnered with you. For a girl who always complains that no one sees past your name and your wealth, you sure were quick to try and exploit mine for your own gain." She tried to interject, but Pyrrhus, his blood up, pressed on relentlessly. "You always sing about how lonely you are, but have you ever stopped to consider that the biggest reason you're alone is _you?_ You're haughty, spoiled, shrill, completely self-absorbed and straight-up mean."

"Excuse me," Weiss finally got a word in edgewise. "I happen to care deeply about -"

"Well, you've got a funny way of showing it," Pyrrhus sneered. "We aren't mind readers, Weiss, and talk is cheap. You want to show people you're more than just a mean brat? Don't just tell people, _show_ people. Your actions tell who you truly are."

He huffed and looked away, trying to wrest his temper back under control. As it was, Weiss was visibly struggling to keep from crying. The part of him that was an empathetic young man wanted to immediately apologize and take back what he said. Another part of him felt that he was _right_, and that someone should have told her everything he'd just said well before she had reached Beacon.

In the end, he just stood up and walked away, leaving a stunned, hurt Weiss in his wake.

[/]

Jane was puzzled at the mood at the cafeteria table. On Team RWBY's side, Weiss was listlessly picking at her salad, her expression crestfallen. The girl looked like she was about to burst into tears. On Team JNPR's side, Pyrrhus was scanning the room as if expecting to have to leap to his feet and pummel someone with his bare hands. Jane shared a glance with her fellow team leader Ruby, the silver-eyed girl confirming that she'd picked up on the tension as well.

Ruby had actually opened her mouth to begin to say something, when they all heard a cry of distress from another table. "Ow, stop, you're hurting me!"

Across the way, Team CRDL was busy tormenting Velvet Scarletina, a shy, unassuming rabbit Faunus. Cardin roughly yanked at her rabbit ears while his cronies held her down, jeering at the girl's cries of pain and pleas for them to stop.

"See, I told you they were real," Cardin smirked as he gave the ears a vicious tug.

"That's awful," Weiss murmured as the other teens looked on.

"Yeah," agreed Yang. "It must be hard to be a Faunus."

Pyrrhus scowled across the room. "I've had about enough of - Jane?" His train of thought derailed as his partner stood up suddenly, as if possessed, and began to stride over towards the table where Team CRDL toyed with their victim.

Cardin's smirk only deepened as he saw who it was approaching him. "Aw, whatssamatter, baby? Jealous?" He reached for the blonde's leg, only to have his hand slapped away.

Jane stared down at him, her face impassive. "Is this what you came to Beacon to do?"

"What?"

"This. Bullying people. Being a thug. Is this really why you came to Beacon?" She looked over to Russel, Sky and Dove. "Is this why you all came here? Because if it is, you should know that it isn't going to end well for you."

Cardin laughed and released Velvet, leaning forward with a leer. "Is that a threat? From you? You barely know what end of the sword to hold! You wouldn't be here at all if you weren't fuckin' Nikos."

Without looking, Jane held out her arm to stop Pyrrhus from attacking, as, sure enough, as soon as those words left Cardin's mouth, the rest of Team JNPR - and Team RWBY, for that matter - had stood up, prepared for a throwdown.

"You see that, Cardin?" Jane asked, her tone still eerily calm. "I have friends, real friends, who I can count on to watch my back, because I have theirs." She turned to give her friends a reassuring smile before returning to Cardin. "And not just my team, but others as well. Where are Team CRDL's friends, Cardin?" Jane gave him a cold smile that would not have been out of place on Weiss's face. "I know where, and you know it too. You don't have any. _No one _likes Team CRDL. Team CVFY outright _hates _you guys, and I'm willing to bet that every team with a Faunus on it feels the same."

Cardin scoffed. "We don't need them. We don't need anyone, because we're strong enough on our own."

"You're really too stupid to get it, aren't you?" Jane stared at the man incredulously. "Let me spell it out for you. Imagine this scenario: a multi-team mission has gone south. One team is going to need to stay behind to cover the rest as they escape, and the Huntsman in charge needs to make a choice. Who do you think is going to get volunteered for that little suicide mission, the team led by the plucky girl who makes friends with everyone, or the pack of bullies that no one can stand?" She glanced over at the rest of Cardin's team. "Even if he doesn't get it, the rest of you can see that he's leading you down a bad road, can't you? Even if _he's _an ass, that doesn't mean that you have to be too."

With his face twisted into an ugly snarl, Cardin sprung to his feet and got in Jane's face, _looming_ over her, and trying to use his physicality to intimidate the girl. "_You _don't get to undermine my authority! _You _don't get to speak to me like that, you uppity _cunt_," he hissed.

A stunned silence descended upon the entire cafeteria. Jane looked around the room, taking in the reaction to Cardin's sexist slur. "I think you just proved my point better than I could," she said. She strode past Cardin and gently collected the rabbit Faunus girl. "C'mon, Velv, let's get out of here."

The silence resumed as the two girls walked away from the table and out the cafeteria, the rest of Team JNPR standing up and leaving as well, with Pyrrhus in particular shooting him a glare so venomous that it was something of a minor miracle he didn't just keel over dead. Cardin saw all the stares of his fellow students upon them, and for once, the attention seemed heavy, even oppressive. "What are you lookin' at?" he spat, as he sat back down. The general buzz of conversation resumed once more, but Cardin could hear his name being whispered.

It didn't strike him as such a good thing anymore.

[/]

"It's just… I don't know that I have what it takes."

Moonlight shone upon Jane and Pyrrhus as they stood together on the roof.

"There's more to being a Huntress than fighting, you know," Pyrrhus rejoined his team leader.

"I just… what if Weiss was right all along? What if I really _don't _belong here?"

Pyrrhus grimaced. "I wouldn't waste the effort worrying what _Weiss_ thinks."

"The thing is… I didn-" Whatever Jane had been about to say was muffled when Pyrrhus gently placed two of his fingers on her lips. The girl's blue eyes were comically wide and crossed as she stared at them for a second, refocusing as she looked back up into her partner's gaze.

"Doesn't matter," the champion said, his voice a low, soft growl. "You're here now. You're our leader, our friend, my partner." A cocky, lopsided grin spread across his face. "So, you need some Remedial Buttkicking 101 tutoring. Big deal. Lucky for _you_, your partner is the best thing since sliced bread."

"And so modest, too," Jane snarked, rolling her eyes fondly.

"What can I say, I can't help being awesome," he grinned cheekily, his arms spread wide. "So, how about I help you with the old sword and board?"

"You'd be willing to do that for me?"

Honestly, Pyrrhus was about ready to declare his willingness to crawl naked across broken glass for her. But being able to combine fighting _with_ getting alone time with his adorable partner? That wasn't a burden at all.

"Of course I'm willing. We're partners, right?"

[/]

The forest of Forever Fall, true to its name, was perpetually adorned with the blood red leaves of autumn, which occasionally fell here and there, swirling together in the winds. It was a pretty picture as Team JNPR worked to fill the jars of sap that they had been assigned to collect. Nora, true to form, had gorged herself on the sweet fluid, and was lying on the forest floor, clutching her swollen belly while Ren fussed over her, and Pyrrhus helped refill their missing stock. A few yards away, Jane had tapped a nearby tree and was also filling a jar.

It was an idyllic scene.

And then jars of sap came crashing onto Pyrrhus, Ren, and Nora.

And then a swarm of rapier wasps, drawn to the substance, descended upon the three Hunters-in-training.

Without hesitation, Ren scooped up Nora in his arms and just _ran_, shielding her with his body and ignoring the painful stings as best he could. Pyrrhus did his best to hold off the insectoid Grimm, even using his Semblance to whip his shield around and bash many out of the sky, but the sheer number of them overwhelmed him, forcing him to give ground as he fought the swarm. Jane ran to join with the rest of her team, only to be blindsided by a mace to the gut. The shocking and unexpected hit slammed the breath out of her lungs, dropping the girl in a crumpled heap to the forest floor.

Weakly, she raised her head to see Cardin Winchester smirking down at her, the rest of his team flanking him. "Well, funny seeing you here." The big man reached down, hauling the dazed girl to her feet. "What's that?" he asked with a faux-curious tone. "You want me to put you in your place? So everyone sees what happens to little whores like you when you get uppity? Well, who am I to refuse such a request?" He nodded at Sky and Dove. "Hold her down."

"What are you doing?" Jane asked, as the two armored men on her sides began to rip at her armor. Her eyes flew open wide as she realized what they intended to do. "Cardin, Cardin no, don't do this."

Russel, having tired of watching the other two fumble with the straps, simply cut the armor off of her, the enameled steel falling to the ground. Jane began to kick and thrash, but Dove and Sky gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Cardin, _no!_"

One of them ripped her prized hoodie in half up the middle and began pawing at her breasts.

"Don't do this!"

Russel took his time cutting apart her denim shorts.

"No! Stop, please!"

Jane was slammed hard onto the forest floor, her head swimming from the impact. She saw Cardin leering at her, his leg armor discarded as he worked at the zipper of his trousers. "Cardin, don't-" she almost retched as he lowered himself onto her, forcing his tongue past her lips in an obscene parody of a kiss.

Jane began to weep as she felt him stab himself inside of her.

[/]

"Really?" Professor Goodwitch asked, as she surveyed the three members of Team JNPR. They had succeeded in cleaning most of the sap off, and the swelling from Pyrrhus and Ren's stings had mostly gone down.

"We were attacked," Ren answered. "It wasn't one of us dropping a jar. The sap and stings would have been concentrated on our lower legs. Instead, it covered our heads, shoulders, upper backs…"

"Why would someone deliberately sic rapier wasps upon you?" Goodwitch asked, genuinely puzzled.

Pyrrhus looked around, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach. "Guys?"

"Where's Jane?"

[/]

Cardin stretched, feeling pretty great about himself. He'd taken a smart-mouthed little cunt and made her into his bitch. As he pulled up his trousers and began reattaching his leg armor, he smirked at the naked, whimpering, sobbing girl, who had pulled herself into the fetal position on the forest floor.

"Not so fucking smug are you now, huh?" He clapped his hands together cheerfully. "All right, who wants my sloppy seconds?" The men ignored the intense weeping of the woman at their feet as the other three began to play rock-paper-scissors to determine who would rape Jane next. Eventually, Dove emerged as the winner and began working at his armor. Cardin moved to kneel by Jane's shoulders, grabbing them and forcing them back down to the ground.

"Don't worry babe, you were _real_ sweet," he leered. Cardin kissed her cheek, as Jane tried to recoil away from his touch.

That was the scene that Teams RWBY and JNPR found.

The general gasps of shock and horror were to be expected. For Pyrrhus, though, he found something else entirely. He had always kept his Semblance in check, looking to give his opponents something resembling a fair fight. He had always kept himself restrained, even in his worst spats with irritating fans, insipid pundits, lawyers, or Weiss.

But now he saw Jane, sweet, innocent Jane, naked and defiled by low-rent miserable loathsome _worms_ that had the sheer gall to call themselves men. He saw the ugly black and purple bruising on her breasts and waist, and the blood and fluids that smeared across her thighs.

When people spoke of truly losing control, they tended to use the phrase "seeing red."

Pyrrhus saw _black_.

It was staggering, to discover just what it was to truly, utterly _hate_ someone with every fiber of his being. It smothered him, a crushing pressure in his chest. And there was only one way to relieve that pressure.

_**"CARDIN!"**_

The members of Team CRDL had just enough time to look up from Jane before the three in armor were sent hurling away from her in an _explosion_ of raw magnetic power. The outburst slapped the rest of the teens out of their shock. "Ruby, Nora, see to Jane," Ren said. The two women closest to Jane split off from the rest, who had weapons drawn.

Pyrrhus unleashed the full extent of his world-destroying wrath on the armored men. Black aura surrounded them as he hefted them into the air. He _slammed_ Dove and Sky into trees, the ground, and each other, over and over again. With one last grunt of effort, he embedded the two of them into a crater. They were either unconscious or dead, and Pyrrhus didn't much care which.

He turned the full force of his glare onto the main instigator. Under his unyielding will, Cardin's armor began to crush in on itself.

[/]

While his teammates were being systematically annihilated, Russel attempted to sneak away in the chaos, only to find himself caught in a black-ribboned snare. With his legs tied together, he dangled from a tree. Blake Belladonna then carefully let some of the ribbon go slack until he hung about five feet from the forest floor.

"Hey, let me go!" the mohawk-wearing boy cried. "It's Cardin who did it, I was just-"

The air was blasted from his lungs as a red-eyed Yang Xiao Long rocketed in and blasted him full-force in the solar plexus. There were no puns, no taunts, nor even a hint of a smile as Yang proceeded to beat the boy into unconsciousness, pounding him like he was a heavy bag. She didn't know Jane all that well, but she was Ruby's first real friend. Jane always let Ruby go off on her weapons tangents, trying her best to keep up even when it was apparent that Ruby's technical obsessions flew well over her head. She and Ruby bonded over the pressures of being team leaders, and relatively "normal-kneed" ones at that. She'd never once tried to leverage that friendship into access to the beautiful and popular Yang Xiao Long, and Yang honestly didn't think the girl even knew just how much that meant to her baby sister.

Jane was a nice girl.

Yang hit Russel again, breaking his Aura. She hit him again, breaking his ribs.

[/]

"It's okay, Jane, we've got you."

"Nora?"

"That's… that's me! Can't… can't keep JNPR down, right?" Nora tried her best to smile through her tears. "Ruby?"

The younger girl still seemed dazed, in shock at what had happened to her friend. "Ruby, come on, Jane needs us right now."

Ruby shook her head as if to clear it.

"Ruby, look at me," Nora ordered. "That's it, focus. Do you see Jane's clothes anywhere?"

"They're in pieces, all over the place," Weiss reported as she walked up to them. "I found her sword though."

"Okay, give it here," Nora ordered. Weiss handed over the sheathed Arc ancestral blade, and Nora pressed it into Jane's arms. "There you go, Janey. Remember all those cool things your great-great grandpa did with your family sword?" She looked over to Ruby. "Ruby, I need your cloak."

The girl still seemed out of it. "My… cloak?" After a second, it clicked that Jane's clothes being destroyed meant that her friend would have to stay naked, and the silver-eyed girl couldn't get her trademark cloak off fast enough. "Here, Jane," she said, in as soothing a tone as she could muster. She gingerly wrapped the cloth around her shoulders.

"... Where's Pyrrhus and Ren?" Jane asked up.

The other three women shared a look. "They're… taking out some trash," Weiss said, slowly.

As she finished speaking, they all heard a tremendous _creaking_ sound, the scream of tortured metal accompanying the scream of a tortured man. Looking up, they saw Pyrrhus use his polarity to crush Cardin in his own armor.

"You won't have eyes tonight," Pyrrhus _hissed. _"You won't have ears, or a tongue. I will send you screaming to the lowest pit in Hell! I will parade your mutilated _carcass_ across Beacon, to let _everyone_ know what it means to kill a _monster!_"

Something snapped in Cardin's body. He was blubbering now, begging for mercy in between his screams.

Pyrrhus clenched his fist and squeezed even tighter.

Jane took a deep breath. A part of her wanted to stay put, with Nora and Ruby, so she could process what had happened to her.

She had been… _raped_. She felt soiled, and weak, and helpless. A part of her wanted to draw Crocea Mors, brace the pommel against the ground, and fall on the blade.

Another part of her… a _big_ part, wanted nothing more than to sit back and watch Pyrrhus tear Cardin apart. Now _he _knew what it was like to feel helpless, and weak, to beg for mercy from someone who had no intention of offering even the slightest bit of it.

She could think of no one more deserving of a painful, humiliating death.

But yet another part of her… the _best _part of her… recognized that Pyrrhus was losing himself to his fury. She needed to stop him before he crossed that line for good. So, she held Ruby's cloak tight around her neck, put her feet back underneath her and, with a deep, shaky breath, she _stood._

"Woah, hey, let's take it easy, Jane," Ruby said.

Jane stared at the spot where she had been. She could see the slight indentation of her body in the grass, along with some of her blood and Cardin's semen between where her legs had been. Jane looked away, then over to where Pyrrhus was slowly crushing Cardin to death, his lips peeled back in a rictus snarl.

Jane took a shaky step forward. Then another. It was, after all, the way to leave somewhere behind, to get somewhere else.

[/]

"You won't have eyes tonight. You won't have ears, or a tongue. I will send you screaming to the lowest pit in Hell! I will parade your mutilated _carcass_ across Beacon, to let _everyone_ know what it means to kill a _monster!_"

Pyrrhus clenched his fist tighter, reveling in the sound of Cardin's bones snapping under the pressure. His target was frantically begging for his life, to no avail. Pyrrhus Nikos was out for blood.

"Pyrrhus!"

He snapped to look behind him, where Jane, wearing Ruby's cloak and flanked by Ruby, Nora and Weiss, was shakily walking towards him.

"You need to stop now, Pyrrhus," Jane told him softly.

"But-"

"I know," she interrupted. "But this isn't about who _he _is, or what _he _does. It's about who _you _are, what _you _do." Her eyes were red and bleary from tears. "You're not a killer, Pyrrhus. Don't let him make you one."

Pyrrhus really wanted to disagree with her assessment of him, but that was not an argument he was prepared to fight, not today. So with a grunt, he released the magnetic death grip he'd held Cardin with, allowing the Aura to dissipate, and unceremoniously dropping Cardin into the crater with the other two armored men.

"Where's Russel?" he asked, only to have his question immediately answered as Yang Xiao Long tossed an unconscious Russel into the crater.

The two teams stood awkwardly in silence.

"I'm sorry," Jane began, drawing all eyes to her. "I wasn't strong enough to fight them off. I-"

"No, I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you," said Pyrrhus. He stepped forward to hug her, but she stiffened and backed away out of panicked instinct.

"It… might be best if you and I gave her her space for a while," Ren noted, speaking to Pyrrhus.

Pyrrhus looked stricken, but he recognized that this wasn't about him. "Sure. Right. That was thoughtless of me."

Jane looked to the ground. "I-"

She was interrupted by the roar of an Ursa Major Grimm. They all readied their weapons, but held as they saw it sniff around the crater.

"Should we… you know, help them?" Ruby asked.

As he watched the Grimm rear up to strike with its front paw, Ren's response was as cold as the Atlas winter. "No. We spared their lives. That doesn't mean we have to save them."

Jane struggled once more. Again, she wanted nothing more than to see her rapist and his cronies get exactly what they had coming to them. But on the other hand…

She broke into a run.

"Jane!" She heard more than a half-dozen voices cry after her. She ignored them and ran to the Ursa Major.

"Hey!" She shouted, drawing its attention to her. In a perverse kind of way, it was good that she was _exuding_ negative emotion at that time. It took a swipe at her with her paw, which she ducked. As a scream tore from her throat, Jane drew her sword and pushed up with her feet, decapitating the Ursa in a single, clean cut.

"I came here to become a Huntress," she declared. "I won't let _him _change who I am." She had one hand clutching Ruby's cloak closed around her neck, the other on the hilt of her sword as she stood on the lip of the crater, the Grimmsmoke of the Ursa rising at her feet.

"What's going on here?!" Professor Goodwitch stood at the edge of the clearing, surveying the situation.

[/]

Professor Glynda Goodwitch had a reputation for being as hard as the stone, and twice as stoic. That's why it threw the students when they saw their notoriously cold teacher sit alone in the corner of a Bullhead, pull off her glasses, and bury her face in her hands.

Four of her students had raped another one.

She had been training predators.

Had her training made them more effective? Had they utilized her teachings on stealth, tactics, and target acquisition to separate the weakest member of the herd and pack hunt her?

Glynda always took it hard when a student was injured, or worse, on her watch. Her only consolation during those devastating times had been that she had always done her level best to prepare her students for what threat they might face. But those had always been outside threats - outlaws, terrorists, and of course, the Grimm. How could she possibly teach them to protect themselves against one another, when the very training made them all deadly combatants?

The only thing keeping her from complete despair was witnessing how Teams RWBY and JNPR- even the notoriously prickly Weiss and the aloof Blake - had closed ranks around their friend.

Gods. How the hell was she going to _begin _to explain all this to Ozpin?

[/]

The last thing that Jane had wanted was for more strange men to go poking around her body, especially taking pictures of it. But they needed to collect the... DNA that Cardin had left, and photograph the contusions.

After they were done, Jane showered. And showered. And _showered. _She didn't know if she would ever feel clean again.

What would she do if he had got her pregnant?

She got dressed in her Beacon Academy uniform, and sat down across from Glynda Goodwitch.

"I'll ask you plainly. Do you think you can continue at Beacon Academy?"

"Miss Goodwitch… I need to confess something. You see, I don't really belong here. I -"

"Faked yout transcripts, I know," Glynda said.

Jane blinked. "You… do?"

The Deputy Headmistress sighed. "Miss Arc, do you think we're stupid? Anyone with functioning eyes can tell you didn't really graduate from a combat prep school with top marks."

"But… if you knew…"

"The Headmaster sees potential in you, Jane. I won't lie, I argued against it at first."

"What changed your mind? My Aura?"

She smiled at the younger woman. "No. It's that you keep getting back up again. No matter how hard you get hit."

"I mean, the Aura helps with that."

"While it _would be nice_ to improve your technique such as powering through obstacles with your skull is no longer required, your physical resilience isn't what I mean. Jane, most of these students here have been in training almost for as long as they can walk. Do you know what that means?"

"It means they're better than me?"

"No, it means that they haven't dealt with the sheer number of crushing defeats you've suffered, let alone in such rapid succession. That means they aren't as adept at picking themselves back up as you are, and believe it or not, that is a valuable skill for a Huntress."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think that, when you're a professional Huntress, that you will always win? That everything will go your way once you get that magic badge on your Scroll? No, I can promise you that there will be times when you do everything in your power, everything you can think of, to fulfill your mission, and still fail. That's life. How do you think someone like that champion of yours will take it? It's been so long since he's lost _anything_ that a resounding defeat could send him into crisis. But you, you've been powering through defeat after defeat. You're developing a resistance to it, becoming more _emotionally_ resilient. And that's someone the world needs: some stubborn bitch who just refuses to lay down and die. Is that you, Jane?"

"I-"

"You were raped today, Jane."

"... I'm aware."

"Cardin Winchester was stalking you. He lured away your team, tore off your clothes and raped you."

"That's… that's what happened."

"Is that all it takes to defeat you?"

Jane rocked back as if she'd been slapped. _"What?!"_

"Does Cardin Winchester's penis control your life? Because that's what he really wanted, you know. To silence the brave girl who wouldn't stand for his _shit._ So, does Cardin _fucking _Winchester get to determine what you are?"

"No!"

"And what are you?"

Jane sprung to her feet. "I am a Huntress!"

Glynda snatched the girl up quickly, pulling her into a fierce embrace. She ignored the hot tears soaking the front of her blouse. "Brave girl," she murmured as she stroked Jane's hair. "Brave, brave girl."

[/]

"Yang?"

"Yeah, Rubes."

"Why do bad things happen to good people?"

"I don't know, Ruby. They just do."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I know it doesn't. Not everyone is as good-hearted as you or your friend Jane. And they hurt people. All we can do is to be there for her, as best we can."

"Yang?"

"Yeah, Rubes."

"I love you."

"I love you too, sis."

[/]

Weiss stared at the torn shirt on her desk. It was, apparently, some limited-edition shirt from the "Pumpkin Pete" brand of breakfast cereal, being a prize for a contest some years ago. It was a bit too small for Jane, which meant she'd won it when she was a child, or a pre-teen. The front had been ripped up the middle, and one of the sleeves had been cut at the shoulder.

She regretted what she'd said to the girl.

_Hey, Weiss, meet my new friend, Jane!_

_Hi, Weiss. Do you want to be friends too?_

_Oh god, there's two of them now. Sure. We can go shopping, do our nails, and gossip about cute boys._

_Really? That sounds gre-_

_No. I was being facetious, you clod._

Time and again, Jane had approached her with nothing but wide-open offers of friendship, which Weiss had rebuked, harshly. A lot of that had to do with her naked envy over her effortless relationship with _the _Pyrrhus Nikos, but truthfully, Weiss had been venomously spiteful to her from the very start. And that wasn't necessary. Even if she thought that Jane was unsuited towards life as a Huntress, that didn't make it okay to abuse and berate her.

And with what she'd seen today… Weiss didn't know if she could have fended off all four members of Team CRDL at once. It could have been _her_ lying naked and bloody on the forest floor, and the only reason it wasn't was that Jane had been the only one to stand up for the Faunus girl. And Weiss didn't know if she could have mustered the strength to pick herself back up and fight for what she believed, mere moments after such a horrendous assault.

Weiss didn't care if Jane never won a single match in combat class. She would be proud to call her her friend.

_You want to show people that you're more than a mean brat? Don't just tell people, _show _people. Your actions tell who you truly are._

Her slender, dextrous fingers had always been well-suited to this sort of task. Sure, between her cash and Pyrrhus's endorsement deal, they could have the shirt replaced in no time. But this shirt meant something to Jane, and no amount of money could truly replace it.

She began stitching from the bottom, tiny, tight stitches made of the strongest thread money could buy.

Weiss began working on the first gift she would ever give that came from her heart.

[/]

She tried to keep the shaking to a minimum at night, but sleep continued to elude her. Finally, she rolled over and whispered to Nora. "Nora? Would it be okay if…"

"Snuggle party?"

"Snuggle party."

Nora rolled into bed with her, burrowing under the blanket. Snuggling with Nora made Jane feel safer. Safe enough, in any event, for sleep to find her.

[/]

The Beacon rumor mill was whirring at full speed due to unspecified events at the first years' trip to Forever Fall. Some said that Pyrrhus Nikos had gone mad after his partner cheated on him with the whole of Team CRDL. Others said that Team RWBY and Team JNPR had been caught having a massive orgy in the forest.

Whatever had happened, there was consensus on only two things; that Team CRDL was gone, and it had centered around Jane Arc.

Qrow was rarely in a good mood in the morning. He was in a worse mood when Ozpin needed his investigative skills to piece together something going down in Ozpin's own school. Sitting in an investigative hearing and witnessing his niece, his _fifteen-year old niece_ crying hysterically because she'd witnessed the first honest-to-god friend she'd had in her life be viciously gangraped by her fellow students?

_Livid_ wasn't strong enough a word for what Qrow was feeling right now, and for once, he and Goodwitch were on the same page. One of the last student groups that they had interviewed had been Team CVFY, or more precisely, Velvet, the Faunus girl whose own attack precipitated the retributive rape in Forever Fall.

She was nervous and shy at first, but she spoke up about how Team CRDL had harassed and assaulted her ever since Initiation. She spoke about how the official Beacon policy of "deal with it yourself" left her, a Faunus from an impoverished family, defenseless against the abuse of the son of one of Vale's oldest and most prestigious families. And she spoke of how Jane Arc was the only one, _the only student_, to even attempt to intervene on her behalf.

When the girl said that she wished it had been her who had been attacked instead, Goodwitch finally snapped. Or rather, her riding crop snapped in her white-knuckled deathgrip.

"_Miss Scarletina._" Upon seeing the girl jump, the Deputy Headmistress took a deep breath and, with effort, forced a softer expression on her face. "Miss Scarletina," she began again. "What happened to Miss Arc was not your fault. The safety and well-being of Beacon Academy students is the responsibility of the administration of this institution… and _culpability _for the attack rests squarely on the shoulders of the perpetrators."

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch," Velvet dutifully agreed. "If it's okay, do you think I could see her today?"

Goodwitch looked around and, seeing no dissent, nodded. "Thank you for your testimony at this hearing, Miss Scarletina. Continue to heed your studies."

"Yes, mum." With that, the rabbit Faunus bowed and left the chamber. When the door closed, Goodwitch collapsed into her seat, closing her eyes and rubbing her eyes.

Silence reigned. And then.

"Qrow." Ozpin spoke up first. "Your opinion?"

"Well golly damn, _Ozzie_," Qrow snarked. "Bullying, sexual harassment, open fuckin' hate crimes. These sound like just a goddamn dandy bunch of boys!" He pointed a finger at his master. "You get them the _fuck_ away from my nieces, Oz!"

The white-haired headmaster sipped his coffee. "I suspect that that will be the general consensus among parents and family members, especially of girls… if this incident were to become public knowledge. Port?"

"These boys' behavior has been nothing short of atrocious… but we are in dire need of able-bodied Huntsmen in the fight against the Grimm. Perhaps some front-line rehabilitation program?"

"That's assuming they'll be able-bodied after that Nikos kid got ahold of them," Qrow muttered.

"Huntsmen are not just powerful fighters, but they are… they _must_ be figures of inspiration among the populace," Oobleck argued. "That goes double for graduates of Beacon Academy. Though still young, there has been nothing in their behavior at this school to indicate that they would do anything other than continue to abuse their talents to satiate their own impulses. Beyond the immediate ethical concerns of continuing to train unstable and violent individuals, the long-term effects that graduating such Huntsmen could have on civilian morale could be… catastrophic. "

"We should have stopped them sooner," Goodwitch spoke up. "_I _should have stopped them sooner. The red flags were all there… gods, what are we teaching at this school? No one except for Miss Arc even tried to stand up for Miss Scarletina, and she was raped as punishment soon after. That sounds less like a lunchroom and more like a prison yard."

Ozpin sipped his coffee again. "...I underestimated Cardin Winchester's spite and need to dominate others. Team CRDL is clearly a mistake." He sighed. "Bring them in."

Now Qrow was, in general, a reasonably law-abiding kind of guy. More or less. Ish. But he'd be lying if, after hearing student after student talk about the various awful things these punks had said and did, seeing them limp in, shackled, with casts and slings the clear signs of an almighty asswhupping, didn't make him feel at least a little better. Their leader, the infamous Cardin Winchester, stood well over six feet tall. Qrow had no idea they stacked shit that high.

Ozpin stared at his students, impassive. "Do you know why you are here?"

"It's all lies!" Cardin protested. "I never did anything to that slut that she didn't ask for!"

"Your victim showed signs of physical trauma and defensive wounds," noted Ozpin.

"So she liked it rough."

"You were caught in the act, Winchester."

"Can't get privacy anywhere these days, right?"

No one laughed.

Ozpin leaned forward. "You _do _understand that, under the Uniform Code of Huntsman Justice, all disciplinary matters pertaining to felonies committed by students of Beacon Academy are the sole jurisdiction of the Headmaster's Council?"

"Okay, and?"

"And that the punishments for rape have been in place since the time of the monarchy?"

"I'm not following."

"I know you're not." Ozpin steepled his fingers. "Let me put it to you in terms you can understand: I am within my legal rights to have you all hanged."

Well. _That _got their attention.

"You can't do that!" Sky blurted.

"I'm pretty sure we just established that I can."

"It's cruel and unusual punishment!" cried Dove.

"Meh. 50-50 on the cruel part, but unusual? Not a chance."

"Do you know who my father is?" demanded Cardin.

"Unfortunately, yes. Fortunately, his Council seat has no bearing on my legal jurisdiction."

"All I did was watch!" pled Russel.

"Then you can hang last, after you've watched your fill."

The four fell silent. Cardin's lackeys couldn't help but recall the Arc girl's warning to them in the cafeteria, that Cardin was leading them down a bad road. She was a mouthy little bitch, but damn if she hadn't been right.

"As of this moment, there is no Team CRDL at Beacon Academy," Ozpin said. "I am choosing to spare your lives for one reason only - the need for fighters to retake territory in Solitas. You will be transferred under the custody of General Ironwood of Atlas, to engage in frontline combat against the Grimm, alongside other condemned criminals with Aura, in the harshest conditions. You will be fitted with an explosive implant to ensure your compliance. Failure to comply will result in your immediate death."

They stared slackjawed at the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Finally, Dove spoke up. "You can't just enslave us! We have free will!"

"You made your choice when you proved yourselves to be a threat to _my _students!" snarled Ozpin. Few in the room had seen the normally soft-spoken and polite Headmaster truly furious before. Before any of the condemned could find their voices again, the vidscreen in the office came to life, displaying the stern visage of Vale Council Member Orin Winchester.

"Headmaster Ozpin, I see I have reached you just in time."

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it, Winchester?"

"I understand my boy has gotten himself into some legal trouble. I congratulate you on finally finding some leverage on me. So, what are your terms?"

The Headmaster scowled. "My terms are that Cardin Winchester go fight in Solitas for no fewer than five years or until the occasion of his death, whichever comes first."

"Well. That's quite the strong opening position."

"Your son stands condemned of rape, sir."

"A misunderstanding, I'm sure."

"Your son was caught in the act!"

"Still, did he get the girl pregnant? It was a girl, right? If so, we'll be happy to compensate her for the burden of bearing the next generation of Winchesters."

"Your son has traumatized multiple students with his barbarism."

"I should get that engraved on his doorframe at home," the elder Winchester mused.

Ozpin gritted his teeth. "This isn't about money, Winchester."

"Very well. To threats it is, then. I want my son sent to the Baleen facility in Vacuo."

Qrow sneered. "That's not a prison, that's a damn spa."

Winchester ignored him magnificently. "Do this, or I'll lead an entire Kingdom-wide audit of Beacon, including your… rather extensive basement remodeling?"

"Hey, what about us?" Russel asked Cardin.

"What _about_ you? Team CRDL doesn't exist anymore, remember?"

"Very well," Ozpin agreed reluctantly. "I'll make the arrangements."

"I'm so glad you can be reasonable," the elder Winchester smirked.

As the prisoners were led back to protective custody, Ozpin caught Qrow's eye and nodded. It wouldn't have been the first time Ozpin had had to publicly agree to something distasteful, then send Qrow in to discreetly "renegotiate" terms.

As he left the office, Qrow checked the info packet that Oz sent to his Scroll. Sure enough, there was the little shit's travel itinerary. Flipping through, Qrow saw the profile of the victim, one Jane Arc. Cute girl, kinda like a beanpole Yang. Maybe Ruby would have had it easier if her big sister wasn't quite as much of a bombshell in high school.

Wait, Arc? Where had he heard that name before?

Ah, shit, was this Gil's little girl? Qrow vaguely remembered a kerfluffle on the old CCNet when Gil Arc finally got a baby girl after, like, a dozen boys or something. Shit, now Qrow felt pissed _and _old. Still, the Arcs had several notable Huntsmen in the family, and here was little old Qrow, with the travel plans of the piece of shit that raped that little girl.

Qrow didn't usually outsource his extra jobs from Oz, but when he did, it was when it was personal. If something like this had happened to Yang or Ruby, he knew he'd want that information.

Sometimes, justice had to be done by hand.

[/]

"Uh, hi?"

"Hello, Jane. I, um, I wanted to give this to you."

"... I don't need your pity, Weiss."

"No. You don't. But you _could _use another friend. Open it!"

"... Weiss, this is…"

"The exact same shirt. I sewed it back together myself."

"Wow… I can barely make out where it's stitched together. Weiss, this must have taken you hours!"

"I… I want to apologize, for how I behaved at the beginning of the year. I was bitter and cruel to you, and you didn't deserve it."

"Meh. I just put it down to cramps."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. You mean it wasn't?"

"..."

"..."

"...Whatever. Jane, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, and I would be proud to call you my friend."

"Aw. See, doesn't being nice feel nicer?"

"I am not nice."

"Nice Weiss strikes again!"

"Damn it, Jane, _do not_ go around calling me that!"

"Oh my god, did you two finally become friends?"

"Oh no."

"Yep!"

"This is awesome! We're gonna do so many friend things, just like normal girls, _with normal knees!_"

"Normal knees!"

"What."

"Just roll with it, it makes Ruby happy."

"Let's all go out together! Yoink!"

[/]

"Thank you for coming with me, Nora."

"No problem. We're friends! Teammates! Sisters! _Soul _sisters!"

"It's just… I know, logically, that Dr. Oobleck isn't going to hurt me but…"

"It's still hard being around men?"

"...Yeah. Pyrrhus is trying to put a brave face on, but I know it's hurting him."

"But not Ren?"

"Between you and me, I couldn't read Ren with a map and a compass."

"He's… dealing with it. We all are. But the important thing is, we're all here for you."

"I just wish I could get back to normal."

"Well, that's what the therapy is for, right?"

[/]

Professor Ozpin stepped up to the podium. Gathered in front of him sat the entire student body of Beacon Academy, shuffling about and muttering to themselves. Even the fourth years had never had a full school assembly like this before, and the speculation as to its cause ran rampant.

The Headmaster tapped the microphone. "Ahem. Excuse me, if you would all settle-"

"_Can it!"_ roared Goodwitch.

"Ah. Thank you, Glynda. As some of you are no doubt aware, this year's first-year student trip to Forever Fall was marred by a horrible crime. Prior to the trip, the former students of the team known as CDRL engaged in an open racist assault on a student of Faunus descent, wherein another student bravely, and correctly, intervened. In retaliation, during the excursion, the former students in question assaulted the girl's team, separated her from them, dragged her further into the forest, and did violently rape her."

The entire auditorium was shocked into silence.

"The victim is recovering. In the meantime, the perpetrators of this horrendous crime have not only been _expelled_, but have been convicted of felony sexual assault, among other crimes, and have been transferred to Huntsman-class correctional facilities." Ozpin's face grew even more stern, and his voice began to rise. "Racist assaults in the lunchroom. Sexual harassment in combat class. _Violent rape on a school field trip!_ I won't have it! I won't!" The Headmaster paused for a moment to collect himself. When he spoke again, his voice was calm once more. "You are all here to learn to fight monsters, not act like them. Let it be known that violent criminal behavior will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and as your former classmates learned, that is a far extent indeed. Oh, and if you're looking to become a hero, standing up for each other is an _excellent_ place to begin. Glynda, do you have anything to add?"

She stepped up to the podium. "I only have this to say. This debacle has been the only time I've ever been ashamed to be a teacher at Beacon."

There was really nothing more to say to that.

[/]

Guillaume Arc, though not often given to frivolity, was nevertheless not as severe a man as many other senior Huntsmen of his position. With that said, when four of his sons, all men grown and Huntsmen in their own right, filed into his office in answer to his summons, the look on his face immediately set off alarms.

"Is it a large Grimm incursion?"

"Have the White Fang poisoned the water again?"

"No," the Arc patriarch held up his hand, calling for silence. "Three months ago, your sister ran away to enroll in Beacon Academy." As his sons began to express their shock and disbelief, Gil made a short, cutting motion with his hand. Through long training, all four Arc sons present fell silent immediately. "Contrary to expectations, Jane not only unlocked her Aura and passed Initiation, but was made the leader of her own team, Team JNPR. She had been progressing in her training until the Academy's annual first-year students' trip to Forever Fall." Gil paused to collect himself, and in the space, his son Alain spoke up.

"Father, what has happened to little Jane? Was it the Grimm?"

"It was a threat she never expected," Guillaume said, forlorn. "A few days prior to the trip, a team of boys had been assaulting a Faunus girl, and your sister, gentle soul that she is, put a stop to it, publicly shaming them. In retaliation, they attacked Jane's team with red sap, sending rapier wasps after them to separate her from them. They overpowered her, and… boys, your sister has been raped."

The room exploded in howls of outrage and sworn oaths of bloody-handed revenge. Guillaume knew that it would be futile to stop them. He felt it too. All he could do was wait for them to vent and regain their composure.

"Father, where is the son of a _bitch_ who raped our sister?"

"The secondary members of the gang are being shipped to Solitas, where they will surely perish against the Grimm. But the ringleader, the one who actually carried out the deed, is the son of a wealthy and powerful man in Vale, a Councilman. He threatened to release sensitive information pertinent to the security of Beacon to force Ozpin to send our target, Cardin Winchester, to the Baleen Facility in Vacuo."

"The Baleen Facility? That's a damn spa, not a prison!"

Guillaume smiled bitterly. "That was brought up in the sentencing as well. Fortunately, one of my old contacts has girls attending the school as well, friends of your sister. And if the train schedule for the prisoner happens to fall into the hands of vengeful Arcs, well, these things happen, no? I believe I am calling this operation 'Operation Kill the Son of a Bitch With a Blowtorch.'"

"Excellent. When do we go?"

"There is one last thing. It is said that your sister prevented her friends from killing the rapist on the spot, out of concern for their well-being. Jane is a good and gentle girl, but a girl she remains. _This_, my sons, is the business of men, and the business of men it _will_ stay. Say nothing of this to her. Allow your sister to focus on her recovery, while we enact justice."

[/]

"Hey Weiss."

"Oh, hello Pyrrhus. How is Jane?"

"Taking things day by day, as are we all. I actually wanted to thank you. Jane says you gave her back her hoodie the other day?"

"Yes, well… I remembered what you said, and decided that, instead of telling her I was sorry, I would _show_ her. Sewed it back up, cleaned it thoroughly."

"Ah, so this is the infamous 'Nice Weiss' I hear about?"

"Oooh! For the last time, I do not enjoy that _ridiculous _nickname!"

"Really? That's a shame. You know, nice is a good look for you."

"I…"

"Well, I gotta go. Bye, Weiss!"

"…."

"...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Weiss? Did you just…. Squee?"

"You heard _nothing, _Belladonna."

[/]

Jane opened the door to leave JNPR's dorm, then stopped stone cold in her tracks. She closed the door, blinking heavily to ensure that she really did see what she just saw, then opened the door once again.

Flowers.

Flowers, as far as the eye could see. Bouquets upon bouquets of flowers of every description lined the entire hallway outside Team JNPR's dorm.

Well. So much for anonymity. Also, what the hell had Ozpin _said_ during that assembly yesterday?

And yep, they were all addressed to her. What the hell was she going to do with all these flowers?

[/]

"And this is my teammate, Yatsuhashi! Yats, come meet Jane, the girl I told you about!"

Jane thought she was in a calm place. But as the large man rose, and rose, and _rose_, she found herself trembling violently.

"Jane?"

"Yeah, Velvet?"

"You're… kind of grabbing my arm real hard."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

It wasn't that Yatsuhashi had done anything at all threatening towards her - quite the opposite, in fact, as he smiled gently down at her - but his sheer size and presence was…

"Would it be better if I sat once more?" he asked politely.

All Jane could do was nod. As the giant shrank back down again, Jane took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give offense."

The big man waved nonchalantly. "It is no bother. A second or two of motion for me is no price at all to set another's mind at ease."

Jane frowned. "But my mind _isn't _at ease, really, and that's the problem."

"Well, would you expect a fractured leg to be ready to run again in a day? An injury to the mind is no different. And just as there is no shame in relying upon a crutch when your leg is fractured, there is no shame in seeking circumstances that best allow your mind to heal."

"I… guess that makes sense."

"Yes, I thought so as well." He smiled gently up at her. "Would you care for some tea?"

"Please. And I suppose you wouldn't be too offput if I asked to remain standing?"

"Not at all."

[/]

"Baleen?! They sent the fucking piece of shit to _Baleen?! _That's a spa for drug-addicted movie stars, not a damn prison!"

Ren stepped over the overturned desk with practiced ease, and dodged his head just in time to miss a falling lamp.

"Pyrrhus."

The champion ignored Ren completely, gesticulating wildly in his rage. "Son of a bitch rapes Jane, and they give him a gods-be-damned beachside vacation! I should have ripped him apart when I had the chance!"

In many ways, Lie Ren was an ideal assistant for anger management issues. With his generally serene temperament and emotion-dampening Semblance, he was best able to provide some stability for his team during this turbulent time.

With that being said, despite his interactions with Nora, Ren was no enabler. Pyrrhus had been giving in to his inner fury every day since that awful trip to Forever Fall, and Ren was, for one, damn sick of it. So, he opted for another tool in his anger management toolkit. He smoothly turned Pyrrhus around by the shoulder and cracked him across the jaw with a right cross, dropping the champion to the ground.

Pyrrhus was so absolutely stunned, first by the fact that he'd been slugged in the face in his own dorm room, secondly that it was _Lie Ren, _of all people,who had done it, and finally that he had been able to land a solid punch on him at all.

"Your anger gives you power, but at the cost of your focus and your balance," Ren offered by way of explanation. "At any rate, you must stop this. Look at our room. Look at yourself! Do you not think that maybe, just maybe, there could be some correlation between your uncontrolled bursts of random violence and Jane being afraid of you?"

Pyrrhus stared at him, stricken.

"Pick yourself up," Ren ordered. "The girls will be done with therapy soon, and we don't want them to see our home in such a state." He shook his head at the champion. "You need to pull yourself together, Pyrrhus. Perhaps we should _all _seek counseling."

[/]

Alain Arc slipped onto the train as it pulled out of the station. The fourth car from the back held the animal that had raped his sister. He crouched low as the engine began to pick up speed, a black smudge on the top of the train that no one would notice. With the patience born of professionalism, the Arc counted out one half-hour from when the train had reached its peak speed.

Right on time, he was joined by a white shadow. Alain pulled down his mask, revealing his messy mop of blonde hair.

"Arc?"

"Yeah, that's me." Any other time, any other place, and Alain would have _made _time to flirt with the beautiful and alluring Snow Angel who was his contact for this off-the-books job, but right now, he was focused on _revenge._

"The prisoner is alone in the cabin," she told him. "Press this detonator to forcibly decouple the car, and I'll reattach the other cars after you're gone."

Alain took the detonator and nodded.

"Oh, and Arc?"

"Yeah?"

"My little sister is friends with yours. She was part of the group that found her, and she… wrote to me about what she saw. Asked me for advice on how to quickly suicide if she were to be overwhelmed." The woman's mouth worked for a second. "As an Atlas Specialist, I can't officially condone what you're doing here. As a sister, and a woman?"

She met his gaze.

"Make it slow."

With that, she gracefully leapt to the next car behind him. Alain waited until he saw the engine just pass a "track out" sign on the right. With expert timing, he hit the trigger at just the right moment, sending the prison cabin rocketing away from the other cars and up a branching rail. He looked over and saw the Specialist reconnect the decoupled cars on the original railway.

He grinned wildly as the car broke through the wooden barrier and off the broken railway, down the snowy ravine. Alain leapt off and pulled his chute. The scumbag inside the train car had Aura, so he'd survive, but he'd be in for one _hell _of a landing.

[/]

All things considered, Cardin thought his life actually wasn't going too bad. Sure, he'd been booted from the academy, but he was now headed for a life of luxurious ease in a resort at Vacuo. He certainly wasn't going to be trudging through the snow with a damn bomb in his neck, like those other losers. Vaguely, he wondered if he would miss them, before deciding that he probably wouldn't. Wealth and power always attracted retainers, and his father had both in spades.

He was, technically, a prisoner, at least in the sense that the carpeting in his private cabin was criminally thin, and the drinks were generic brand. Ugh, who did they think he was, some kind of Faunus? That sort of torture should be outlawed, really.

Cardin had just stood up to grab a snack, when he happened to glance out the window. Huh. They sure were high up. And then… the car started falling.

He lurched to the window, his mind trying to make sense of what it was seeing. Where the hell were all the other cars? And why was he falling down a ravine?!

He had just enough time to brace for impact before the car hit the ground with a massive thud. Groaning, he stood up on wobbly legs. Part of the cabin was wrecked, totally crumpled in on itself. Only part of the lighting still worked, flickering on and off. Cardin had just about decided to try and find a way out when he heard the telltale sound of a torch carving through the rear of the car. A large oval fell out of the bulkhead, and a man, dressed all in black and wearing a welding mask, stepped through, carefully avoiding the red hot glowing edges where he'd cut.

"Cardin Winchester," the man said, his heavily-accented voice muffled by the mask.

Cardin facepalmed. "For crying out loud, ya friggin' geniuses, I didn't need a damn breakout! My dad had it all taken care of!"

More men started filing into the cabin, dressed similarly, but carrying heavy pipes in their arms. Cardin counted four total - no, five, as one more landed outside with a parachute. The man with the blowtorch raised his mask to reveal a man in his late forties or early fifties, mostly grey haired and mustached.

"My name is Guillaume _Arc," _the man introduced himself. Cardin felt his blood run cold at the surname. "These are my sons." He flipped the mask back up and ignited the blowtorch.

"_I will exact justice for my daughter."_

[/]

"Wow, this is the most girly thing I've ever seen Ruby do," Yang exclaimed, filming with her Scroll as Nora was weaving flowers into Ruby's hair, Ruby was weaving flowers into Weiss's hair, Weiss was weaving flowers into Jane's hair, and Jane was weaving flowers into Nora's hair.

"Next thing you know, you'll be painting your nails," Yang continued to snark.

"Nah," Ruby denied. "They'd catch fire at the forge. I don't know why you're making such a big deal about it, Yang. I mean, what else are we going to do with all these flowers?"

"I dunno, squish 'em and make perfume?"

The flower weaving came to an abrupt halt.

"...Crap, that _is _a good idea," muttered Nora.

Yang rolled her eyes and was about to say something else when her partner came into the room. She had a large purple flower over one of her ears. The quiet girl looked over at the scene, then took a white plumeria. "Here, Yang."

Ruby almost panicked. "Wait, Blake, don't touch her -"

Blake casually put the flower in Yang's hair, the blonde's face going red at the sensation of Blake's slender fingers touching her hair and face. "There. Looks nice." With that, she walked over to her bunk to go read.

Ruby started smirking at her sister, who looked as if she was trying to reboot. "Heh."

[/]

"Thank you for helping me, Miss Goodwitch." Jane had asked Miss Goodwitch if she would be willing to help her with her sword technique. That very night, she met with Jane and Pyrrhus in the training arena.

"It's no bother, Miss Arc." The Deputy Headmistress pulled a hilt from her bag. With the push of a button, a slender longsword blade extended from it and Glynda gave the sword an experimental flourish. "If nothing else, it's been too long since I've had occasion to exercise the basic sword forms."

"Yeah, I guess the whole telekinesis thing makes swordplay redundant, huh?"

The older woman shrugged. "Like anyone, my Semblance is not inexhaustible. A good Huntress has a contingency. And a contingency-contingency. Are you ready to begin?"

Jane drew Crocea Mors, expanding the shield and crouching into a ready guard. Glynda cocked her head curiously. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think we were going to open up with sparring? Is _that_ what you've been doing those nights on the roof, Mister Nikos?"

From where he sat to watch, Pyrrhus had the good grace to flush in embarrassment. "Well, I kinda thought it would be the best way to try and get her up to snuff quickly…"

"Mmhmm." Glynda crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. "And I'm sure that the opportunity to show off for Miss Arc had nothing to do with it, hmm?"

Pyrrhus summoned all of the eloquence at his command to defend himself. "Uh…"

Glynda just shook her head in amused exasperation. "Men," she sighed, throwing a conspiratorial wink at Jane. She was heartened by the little smile that the girl gave her in response. "They never really grow up, which is why we need to set them straight." She gestured with her sword. "Right. So what's going to happen tonight is we're going to work on your footwork, and shield placement. I'll demonstrate how to throw a variety of strikes while still keeping yourself covered with your shield, and then you will drill those movements until it becomes second nature. Understood?"

Jane nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

The older woman used her telekinesis to retrieve a generic training shield. "Now look closely at the biomechanics to generate proper cutting power from your hips…"

[/]

"Ultimately, developing an androphobia is a fairly common response for people whose attackers were men." Dr. Oobleck reported to the faculty. "Fortunately, Miss Arc not only has men in her life who are dedicated to helping her recover, but she understands that her fear is a response to her assault, and is actively attempting to overcome her trauma."

"But will she be able to recover in time?" Port questioned, ignoring the sudden death glare that Glynda Goodwitch sent his way. "After all, we can't have a Huntress shaking in her boots every time she sees a man."

"It's only been a week, Peter," Oobleck argued. "Frankly, considering that she was attacked by another student of Beacon, her ability to even function at the level she has is nothing short of remarkable."

"Remarkable perhaps, but will it be enough? It may be kinder for Beacon to offer to pay her tuition to a civilian academic institution," Glynda's glare deepened at Peter's suggestion that they drum out Jane Arc. "After all, our Academy bears some responsibility for what happened. It's just a shame that what potential she may have had could have been ruined by -" Peter Port came to a halt, pulling his collar as Glynda's glare reached heretofore-unseen levels of pantshitting terrifying.

"Ahem. After abrupt reconsideration, perhaps one week is insufficient time to adjudge a student as psychologically unfit to continue training as a Huntress."

Glynda dropped the glare and leaned back in her chair.

[/]

Pyrrhus blinked as Jane approached him, a bunch of flowers in hand.

"Uh… what's with the flowers?"

Pyrrhus Nikos went around with a crown of flowers on his head for the rest of the school day. Some of the other boys made fun of him, but Pyrrhus could care less. Jane had told him that he looked a lot less scary covered in flowers. He'd start a whole new men's fashion trend if it made her smile like the way she had when she'd told him that.

[/]

"Are you sure, Jane? I mean, it's kinda Team RWBY business, so if you want to sit this one out…."

"Blake was there for me, so I want to be there for her too. I can speak for all of us when I say that Team JNPR is ready and willing to help find her."

[/]

Jane collapsed in relief.

Negative. The test was negative.

Cardin hadn't impregnated her after all. He wasn't able to force her to choose between giving up on her dream or… terminating a pregnancy.

It was negative.

[/]

"Thanks for going with me to therapy, Miss Goodwitch." The two walked along the greenway, enjoying the noontime sun on a lovely day. "I'm going to try and go on my own the next time."

"It's no problem, Miss Arc, at least for today. I needed to take a break from the paperwork at any rate, lest I find my brains dribbling from my ears."

The pair came to a halt as Goodwitch's Scroll chimed. "Goodwitch." As the person on the other end of the line spoke, Glynda's countenance slowly regained its flinty, standoffish expression. "They did _what?_ Right. On my way." She turned off the Scroll and began to march towards the cafeteria.

"Miss Goodwitch?"

"Miss Arc. It appears as though your friends and teammates started the mother of all foodfights in the cafeteria."

"And I missed it?!" Jane started to run towards it before remembering who had been with her. "Uh, I mean, I need to go, uh, wrangle my wayward team and, uh, ensure proper discipline. Right."

Glynda just sighed. These children were going to be the death of her.

[/]

"Huh. Scroll says I have a visitor." Jane finished reading the missive on her Scroll, and looked around to her teammates.

"Huh. Well, it's not like we had much scheduled for today anyway, right?" Pyrrhus pointed out.

Nora sat up, leaving her magazine by the side. "Did it say who it was?"

Jane shook her head. "Nope. Just that they'll be here -"

There came a knock at the door.

"Now." Jane opened the door and froze. Pyrrhus leapt to his feet immediately, in case someone somehow managed to sneak in intending to do his partner harm.

Jane's voice came out in a whisper. "Papa…" she threw herself into her father's arms. "Papa!"

Guillaume embraced his daughter as she began to sob into his chest. "Everything's okay. Daddy's here now."

[/]

Neptune stared at the beautiful blonde girl in the library. Well, the _other _beautiful blonde girl. He had done his homework on the friends of his bro's crush, and knew that most of the others on the secret Faunus's team were firmly off-limits. Blake, of course, was off-limits because trying to sneak a bro's crush out from under said bro is a critical violation of the Bro Code. The little redhead on the team was fifteen, which eliminated her from consideration from the get-go. Neptune was a lady's man, not a _complete_ creep. The blonde on the team, Yang Xiao Long, looked liable to kick his ass six ways from Sunday if he tried hitting on her. The white-haired girl had possibilities, but she had a reputation for being severe, putting her firmly in the "backup" category.

But when he'd followed his friend into the library, there had been an entirely other team, with two more lovely ladies. It also had friggin' Pyrrhus Nikos, but Neptune figured that he'd probably be with someone a little more glamorous than the quiet girl. His target was tall, with generous portions of her smooth, shapely legs visible with her plaid uniform skirt. With her wide, innocent blue eyes and the flowers in her wild blonde hair, she was giving him real "girl next door" vibes, the kind of girl who would probably appreciate a little flirting.

"So," he asked, as Team RWBY introduced them to their friends. "Who is this lovely lady? Hey there, Wildflower," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and moved to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Um…" she took a step backwards.

"What's the matter?" Neptune asked, as he tried to step forward to follow the girl. "Tried" being the operative word, as, as soon as he began to close the distance, Pyrrhus friggin' Nikos practically _materialized_ in his path, crossing his arms over his chest. Furthermore, the rest of Wildflower's team stood _instantly_, and even Team RWBY looked ready to intervene.

Something was up. Clearly, he was missing some critical piece of the puzzle here. Neptune made a show of raising his hands and backing away slowly. "Uh… okay? Not sure what I did, but I'm cool, don't worry."

"I'm sorry." A soft, high voice rang quietly from behind Pyrrhus. The champion stood aside to let them address each other directly, though he still looked ready to interject himself at a moment's notice.

"I had… a bad experience with someone recently. I'm working on it."

"Ah. Okay." In Neptune's experience, there had to be a very specific amount of Damaged that a girl could demonstrate before she became a lost cause. A little Damage could make her susceptible to fun times and experimentation, but too much, and she'd close herself off. Looked like this girl was a little too Damaged to be worth the bother.

He turned to his backup. "So, Snow Angel, what do you do for fun around here?"

Weiss appeared to think it over. "Well, there's…" her eyes flew open as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, did you just drop Jane just like that? Am I your _backup_ girl?! Weiss Schnee is no one's fallback plan! Come on, Ruby, let's get out of here."

And just like that, not just Ruby but _all_ those girls proceeded to unceremoniously file out of the library, leaving Sun, Ren, Pyrrhus, and a very demoralized Neptune to stand alone together.

"Dude," Sun admonished his partner.

Neptune just shrugged helplessly. "I don't even know, dude."

"I know, dude, but _dude_."

The blue-haired man looked over at Pyrrhus. "Dude, is that your girl?"

The champion just stared at him. "Dude."

"What? It's a valid question, bro."

Pyrrhus looked appalled. "Dude. It doesn't matter if I'm crushing on her, but what she's feeling."

"So, what happened with her?"

"Dude!" Sun looked shocked.

"What?"

"It's not cool to pry, dude."

"Very not cool, dude," Pyrrhus agreed with Sun. "You just need to be cool around her."

Ren just gave up and left. He'd been quietly excited at the possibility of expanding their friend circle to more men - sometimes, he felt as though he was drowning in estrogen - but there was such a thing as too much of a good thing, dude.

Damn it. Now they had him doing it!

[/]

Jane sighed as she watched Pyrrhus going through his exercises. She'd been having… complicated feelings about him. Part of her wanted to keep her distance from her partner, and another part wanted to shove him against a wall and just… _have at him_. Besides the imminent problem of not knowing if he'd return her affections, or if it would be _safe_ to do so, Jane also didn't know if those feelings were authentic, or just side effects of her trying to regain control of her life. On the other hand, what if they _were_ authentic, but then the trauma had interfered in the opposite direction?

Damn it. Being attracted to men was hard. On the one hand, they were, you know, _men_. On the other hand, they were, you know…

She giggled as she saw her partner peel off the sweat-drenched shirt he'd been wearing, leaving his broad chest bare.

On the other hand, _men_!

[/]

"Thank you for your assistance, Mister Wukong," Dr. Oobleck addressed the young transfer student from Mistral's Haven Academy. He had asked Jane if there were any men that weren't in her immediate circle of friends that she might feel closer to safe around, and she had offered up the young Faunus.

"It's no problem, Dr. O," Sun shrugged. It really wasn't. Besides the extra credit he'd been offered to compensate for his time, and the opportunity to look good for Blake, Sun had decided to become a Huntsman to help people, and taking an hour to help another student was no biggie.

"Right. So you know what we're doing here: Miss Arc has developed a case of androphobia as a result of recent trauma."

Sun blinked, obviously clueless.

"Ah. Well, in layman's terms, she's afraid of men. She has been working very hard to overcome this in the weeks since the incident, and in our last session, I asked her if there were any male students that were not a part of her team that she felt might be less threatening to her. And she named you."

"Ah, well, glad I can help. So what, exactly, do I need to do?"

"I'll be asking her questions, some of which may also need your input. In general, think of this as a nice chat with her. I do need to stress that any aggressive moves, such as raising your voice, throwing objects or furniture, or initiating physical contact with her, could well trigger acute stress within her, and would be counterproductive to our goals."

"Right. So just stay cool."

"Indeed, Mister Wukong. Finally, I'll be encouraging Jane to be candid as to her feelings. To that end, if she discloses any details about the circumstances of her trauma, you will be required to keep that to yourself. You are not to discuss it with your partner, your teammates, or anyone else. Is that understood?"

"Okay. I can keep a secret."

"Well, that covers the preliminary instructions. Do you have any questions?"

Sun shook his head. "Nah, sounds pretty simple."

"Excellent." Doctor Oobleck pressed a button on his intercom. "Miss Arc, if you would please enter?"

The door opened, and Jane carefully walked in, with Nora at her side. The redhead squeezed Jane's hand. "You gonna be okay?"

Jane took a deep breath, then nodded at Nora. "Yeah. I think I will. Thanks, Nora."

"No problem! If you need me to bust in and break his legs, I'm just a call away!" With that, Nora departed the room, and Jane sat down across from Sun.

"Thanks, Sun. I know I don't know you all that well, so I appreciate you doing this for me."

"Ah, it's nothing," Sun said, waving his hand. "I'm just glad to help."

"So, Miss Arc," began the Doctor, "Why don't we begin by explaining what it was about Mister Wukong that you feel makes him less threatening?"

Jane wrung her hands a little. "Would you be too terribly offended if I said it was because you're a huge dork?"

Sun chuckled. "Nah, is all good."

"Well, you remind me of my brothers," Jane elaborated. "They're all very earnest, open and… puppylike."

"So, Mister Wukong and your brothers all share personality traits that set you at ease," observed Oobleck. "And probably a physical resemblance as well."

"Well, they don't have the tail, but aside from that, you'd never know Sun wasn't one of us to look at him."

"You're not weirded out by a Faunus?" Sun asked.

"Why would I be? People are people. Some are good, some are bad, and most fall somewhere in the middle. I mean, I'm a human, but so was the man who raped me, and that didn't give him any pause."

Sun's tail went straight with shock. "That's what happened to you?!"

Jane stared at him for a moment. "You mean you didn't know? I thought everyone knew…"

"No, I didn't. Nep was asking around, but no one was really willing to say much."

Jane hedged for a moment. "And why was Neptune asking about me?"

"Ah, you know how he is," Sun shrugged.

She made a face. "I do. There's a reason why I'm talking to you and not him."

"What is it about Mister Vasillias that discomfits you?" Doctor Oobleck asked.

Jane sighed. "He seems nice enough at first glance, but it was obvious that he was sizing us all up. The girls, I mean," she clarified. "It was like he was a wolf looking at a herd of sheep. I mean, we can all see that you're crushing on Blake," she continued, indicating at Sun, "but with him, it was like he didn't care _who_ he succeeded with, so long as it was with someone. Also, I _kinda_ shared that impression with the other girls, and probably torpedoed his chances with them. Sorry about that," she finished, scratching her head in awkwardness.

Sun sighed. He was well used to Neptune's antics with the fairer sex. And truthfully, Jane wasn't all that far-off from the truth. After all, a critical component of wingmanning _was_ drawing off a target girl's friends so the bro could chat her up alone. It was just kinda odd, hearing such an integral part of bro-ness described from the other side. "Don't worry about Neptune, he's… yeah, he's dumb. He'll knock it off once he realizes no one's taking the bait."

"Or once Pyrrhus kicks his ass," Jane said with a rueful smile.

"Yeah, that too."

Doctor Oobleck coughed, getting the attention of the two students. "If I may bring something to your attention, Miss Arc? Earlier you said something very important." He checked his notes. "People are people, you said. Good, bad, and somewhere in between. The sentiment applies to gender as equally as to race, you see. Your brothers, your father, the men on your team, Mister Wukong, all of the qualities that you see in them that make them less threatening to you don't make them less of men. It just means that they are different men from Cardin Winchester."

After a moment, Jane nodded. "It's just… I can understand that logically, but... " she shook her head.

All of Sun's instincts were screaming at him to get up and hug the poor girl, but Doctor Oobleck had been very clear that that would have been a bad idea. Apparently, sometimes people needed a hug, and sometimes, they needed space. Was that that whole "boundaries" thing Blake had been going on about?

"Jane," the Doctor said gently. "You do realize that you've been sitting and speaking to two men, alone? Compared with how you were at the beginning of these sessions, your progress has been nothing short of remarkable. I'm quite proud of you, and I know that Miss Goodwitch is as well."

"I…" Jane hadn't really considered it that way. "I guess that's something."

[/]

"Hello, Pyrrhus."

"Hey, Weiss. What's up?"

"Do you know if Jane is going to the dance?"

"Ah. Well… I haven't asked. I just figured I'd go along with whatever she felt most comfortable doing."

"Right. It's just… if she doesn't want to go… would you accompany me?"

"... I'm sorry, Weiss. It's not a matter of the dance, it's…"

"She really means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. She really does. And I'll wait for her to be ready. No matter how long it takes."

"..."

"Hey, it's okay. I know that someday, you'll meet someone worthy of you. You deserve nothing less, because you're Weiss."

"Not because I'm a Schnee?"

"No. Because you're _Weiss_. So chin up, okay? Nice Weiss won't be alone for long."

"For the last time, I am not nice!"

"Sure thing. See you around, Weiss."

[/]

"I don't see why you're spending the money on me when I don't even know if I'm going to the dance!" Jane protested as Weiss, Yang, and Nora frog-marched her and Ruby into the clothing boutique.

Neither Jane nor Ruby were able to dissuade their teammates. "We're all honorary sisters now, and we go as a group," Yang calmly informed them. "And since neither of you have anything more formal than your uniforms, that means _you_ need to get fitted."

"But I hate stupid lady stilts!" Ruby wailed.

Yang continued to literally drag her little sister behind her. "Suck it up, sis. Looking good is all part of the Huntress game."

"Can't I just borrow one of your dresses, Yang? You're about as tall as I am," Jane pleaded.

Her fellow blonde didn't even turn too look back at her. "Jane, you know I love you, but there's no way you're going to fill in one of _my_ dresses. There'd just be loose fabric, just… flopping around, lookin' all tragic and junk."

Jane whined.

She and Ruby were subjected to a series of dresses and gowns, none of which really spoke to Jane, until she found a particular gown, white, in the draping style of old Northern Mistral, in the Argus region. That Pyrrhus hailed from there was a minor coincidence, nothing more. Honest. The gown left one shoulder bare and cinched under the bust, clinging to her hips and long, long legs.

Jane figured she had a winner when she walked out of the changing room and her friends burst into applause. As she looked herself over in the mirrors, she decided that it might not be so bad to dress up now and then.

[/]

Jane pivoted, whipping her sword at Pyrrhus's head. Her training with Miss Goodwitch had paid off in spades, as not only had her footwork improved by leaps and bounds, but she had learned how to properly swing her sword. She had been trying to muscle it, which could work, but with her delicate, willowy build, she simply lacked the upper body strength to fight that way. Glynda had taught her how to generate power through biomechanical torque, allowing her arms and shoulders to function more like a chain, whipping the sword with fluid motions and snapping stabs.

Pyrrhus grinned as he delivered a cunning riposte, only to have it deflected at the last moment by Jane's shield. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were developing those leet skills, Jane."

She rolled her eyes as she stepped forward, feinting into a wrap cut. "No one says 'leet' anymore, you tremendous dork."

The champion stepped back and spread his arms wide, flashing his cocky grin. "That wounds me, you know. Right in the soul."

Jane just shook her head and spun her sword in a little flourish as she sheathed it. "You'll live, Mister Big-shot."

Pyrrhus followed suit and sheathed his sword and shield onto his back. He hesitated for a moment before clearing his throat. "So, uh, Jane… are you going to go to the dance?"

She sighed with exaggerated drama. "Yep. I've been drafted into service by the rest of the girls, to wear a gown and make a fool of myself on the dance floor. Such sacrifice. Such nobility. Mourn for me, Pyrrhus!"

He snickered. "You're being a dork."

"Lady's prerogative."

"Anyways…" Pyrrhus worked up his nerve. "If you're going to be going, would you like to accompany me?"

Jane stared at him, wrestling with her emotions. In many ways, it shouldn't be a difficult decision at all. He was _Pyrrhus_, a strong warrior and stalwart friend. He was bold and even cocky at times, standing tall and proud. Jane had been crushing on him for a long time, so why not act on it?

But… what would it mean to entrust herself to him? Would it be safe to let him into her heart?

"Jane? Are you okay?"

She was done. She was done with living in fear. Her original plan for the night of the dance, a quiet night watching movies on her Scroll… if she were lucky enough to live to be old and gray, would she even remember such a night? Or would it not be better to fill that time with memories of friendship, love and romance?

Jane didn't know if her trauma was speaking, or if it was, in which direction it might have been influencing her. But in that moment, she decided that she didn't rightly care. She walked over to Pyrrhus and gently reached up to rest a palm on his cheek, feeling the rough stubble under her hand.

"Um, are you -"

Before she could talk herself out of it, she reached up with her other hand as well, and pulled Pyrrhus Nikos into a kiss.

The memory of Cardin Winchester forcing his tongue into her mouth reared its head, but she ruthlessly crushed it, deepening the kiss with desperate, hungry need. As his large hands moved to her waist and back and strong arms embraced her, she fought back the fear of strange men ripping her clothes and forcing her down. Pyrrhus _could_ hurt her, but Jane found that she truly believed that he _wouldn't_. This was _her_ choice, what _she_ wanted, and Cardin _fucking_ Winchester wasn't going to keep her from living her life any longer.

Ultimately, the need for air forced the two to break off the kiss, both panting heavily.

"So," Pyrrhus breathed. "Is that a yes?"

Jane just giggled helplessly and rested her head against his broad chest.

[/]

It hurt, a little, when Jane and Pyrrhus had announced that they were officially "together-together" to their group of friends, but Weiss kept her melancholy to herself. After the trials that their partnership had endured, both of them deserved to have their new relationship kick off without a hitch.

That still didn't mean it didn't sting to watch. So, Weiss retreated for a moment to collect herself over by the drink dispensers, watching the new couple from afar.

"It sucks, doesn't it?"

Weiss turned to see Sun Wukong, Blake's would-be paramour, walking towards her from the grape soda machine. He nodded in the direction of their friends. "I mean, you want what's best for them, but it feels kind of selfish to feel bad for yourself."

"That's for sure," she sighed. She supposed Sun knew how she was feeling. Blake, who had descended into some kind of personal obsession over the White Fang, had rejected Sun's overture in the harshest possible terms, telling him exactly where he could shove the bouquet that he had offered to her. Before her session with Jane and Doctor Oobleck, Sun would have continued to keep the offer open, but he had been reconsidering his actions in light of other people's emotions, and decided to keep his distance.

"You really did fall for her, didn't you?" Weiss asked the young Faunus.

Beside her, Sun sighed. "Sometimes, it's not the right time, I guess. I'm just trying to do the best I can for her."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it someday." She held up a milk carton in toast, and Sun smiled ruefully as he tapped his can of soda to it.

"Here's to the rejects," he snarked.

"Hooray."

[/]

"Mister Nikos."

"Miss Goodwitch."

"I understand that you and Miss Arc have officially become an item."

"That's correct, ma'am."

"And I'm sure that you understand, given her experiences, just how much trust she's placing in you."

"That's also correct."

"Good. You're a most promising student, Mister Nikos. I would surely hate to have to tear you apart in alphabetical order for abusing that trust. I trust you understand my meaning?"

"Yes, ma'am. If I ever break her heart, I'd stand there and let you."

"I'm glad we understand each other."

"Heh. She really _is_ your favorite, huh?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mister Nikos."

"Sure thing, ma'am. Whatever you say."

[/]

The boys convened in Team JNPR's room, with the girls all getting ready in Team RWBY's room across the hall. Of course, the men had donned their suits, tied their ties, and adjusted their hair. Easy as pie, but the girls were taking their sweet time with their elaborate and arcane rituals.

"I don't get it," Pyrrhus griped. "It's a dance, not a wedding. Don't know what the whole hullaballoo is all about."

"The ways of women are mysterious and beyond our ken," Neptune intoned with sage gravity. "At best, we may discern glimpses of the transcendent mysteries of the fairer sex."

Ren snickered into his drink. "Mysteries such as why they run screaming away from you."

"I know, right?" Neptune tossed up his hands in exasperation. "Not a single girl in this school wanted anything to do with me. What the hell? Where did I go wrong?"

"You creeped 'em out," Sun answered. "You creeped out Jane, pissed off Weiss, and between the two of them, they spread the word."

"What?!" Neptune spun on his partner in shock. "The hell did you figure that out?"

"I actually spoke to the girls in question," the Faunus shrugged.

Ren continued to poke fun at Neptune's expense. "A novel idea for 'discerning glimpses of the transcendent mysteries.' Actually talking to girls."

"Oh, like you're any better," Nep defended himself.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"I know you don't, and that's the problem."

"So," Pyrrhus addressed Sun. "Anything going on with you and Weiss?"

Sun coughed awkwardly. "Nah. I just related with her about rejection, is all."

"Well, there are worse ways to open up a dialogue," the champion continued. "She's super smart, driven… has that whole dominant thing that you seem to like… maybe you should ask her for a dance tonight."

"Pyrrhus, dude, I'm a Faunus street-thief turned Huntsman. She's the heiress to the most powerful human company in the world. Guys like me don't hang with girls like her."

"Well, is that Sun talking, or society talking?"

Neptune swatted his partner on the shoulder. "Dude, you should totally go for it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Her father could pay assassins to kill the guy with a tail seen dancing with his daughter."

"So, there's an element of danger there," Ren pointed out, slowly buying into the idea himself. "I thought the notorious Sun Wukong ate danger for breakfast."

"Nah, that's banana nut muffins," muttered Neptune.

"If nothing else, just being asked would reassure Weiss that she has possibilities," Pyrrhus added, playing off of Sun's generally benign and helpful nature.

Sun relented by throwing his hands in the air. "All right, all right, I'll ask her, okay? But when this all ends horribly, I'm holding _you_ guys responsible," he said, pointing his finger at the other boys with a scowl on his face.

At that point, Pyrrhus's Scroll rang with a text. He checked the device. "Yo, girls are ready. Let's go meet them in the hall."

They filed out into the hallway. Yang and Nora were the first ones out, with Yang in a white fit-and-flare A-frame dress, and Nora wearing pink. Without her hammer or jacket, the orphan girl's absolutely _tiny_ frame was made even more apparent.

"Hey boys," Yang said, throwing them a wink.

"Renny! You're wearing a suit!"

The slight ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "That is what I'm wearing, yes."

Blake, Weiss and Jane were the next out. Blake wore a long, purple dress with a slit in the leg, and Weiss wore a short white dress with strategic cutouts at the waist. Pyrrhus paid them no heed, as Jane captivated his entire attention.

Her gown was in the classic, elegant cut of his homeland, and she wore sandals whose straps crisscrossed up her long and shapely legs. Jane wore her hair brushed to one side, which accentuated her graceful, swanlike neck and a single bare shoulder.

At some point, Yang had gone back into the room and physically dragged Ruby back out, to totter uneasily on her heels, but Pyrrhus hadn't even noticed.

"I think she broke Pyrrhus," Nora noted.

Weiss smiled sadly. "Well, I think we can agree that our mission to knock Pyrrhus on his butt has been a resounding success."

Pyrrhus gently reached out to take Jane's hands. "Uh… hi," he said, lamely.

"Hi," she replied in kind, a blush coloring her cheeks.

Blake braced herself, preparing to apologize to Sun and accept his invitation… but then he went to go talk to Weiss. After an awkward moment, Sun offered his arm, and somehow, impossibly, she accepted, allowing him to escort her to the dance.

The secret cat Faunus stood in shock in the middle of the hallway. "What… what just happened?"

Yang gave her partner a friendly swat on the back. "I mean, you shot him down. Like, hard. You didn't think he'd sit there and take that forever while you made up your mind, did you?"

Blake's downcast look revealed that, yes, she had. Beside her, Yang sighed.

"That's how things go, you know. You can't take people for granted." She nudged the brunette by the shoulder. "C'mon. You still owe _me_ a dance, after all."

[/]

Ruby took her customary spot at the punch table. All was right in her world. Yang had taken the opportunity of an absent Sun to monopolize Blake's attention at the dance floor. Weiss had gasped in surprise when her date for the night had demonstrated his tail's prehensile qualities, pulling her close by her slender waist. The heiress had born a heavy blush for the rest of the night as her mind raced with… _possibilities_. Nora had been giddy to attend the dance with her Renny, and that Jane and Pyrrhus had finally become "a thing."

Even Penny was there! Ruby wasn't really able to go talk to her robot friend, because guards, but she waved as she saw her fellow nerd dancing happily in place.

She looked on as Jane and Pyrrhus swept across the dance floor. It warmed Ruby's heart to see how happy and comfortable Jane looked in Pyrrhus's arms.

Hey… what was that outside?

[/]

Ozpin turned to address his inner circle.

"The Breach was a shot across the bow. The enemy is moving on both Vale and Beacon specifically, and the Queen's pawns are confirmed to be here. We need to discuss the Fall Maiden."

Qrow sighed. "And you're sure there's no chance of recovery?"

"At this point… release would be a mercy."

General Ironwood rubbed his chin. "With the Aura transfer machine, we finally have the opportunity to transfer the powers of a Maiden to a candidate of our choice. Do you have any candidates?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Ozpin touched a button on the holographic screen, causing it to display a picture of Jane Arc.

Glynda dropped her clipboard in shock. "Ozpin, you _must_ be joking! The girl is nowhere near ready!"

"On the contrary, Miss Arc displays qualities that may prove useful for a Maiden under attack. She understands her vulnerability more than any other potential candidate. This means that she will not spurn protection, nor is she likely to try to stand and fight when she really should flee. She has displayed a talent for befriending others, to the extent that they behave in a protective fashion towards her. And finally, she comes with one of the more powerful bodyguards available for someone of her age, Pyrrhus Nikos. Ultimately, she's the best of a substandard array of options."

[/]

"So, what can I do for you, Professor Ozpin?"

"Tell me, Miss Arc… what's your favorite fairy tail?"

[/]

Pyrrhus winced as he heard Jane start to scream in the pod. _Of course_ she had to jump at the responsibility. _Of course_ she endangered her very sense of self for the common good. The _sole_ reason that he wasn't tearing apart that machine to pry Jane out of it was because she had made sure to repeatedly emphasize that it was _her_ choice, and how so many of her choices had been stolen from her.

So help him, if Jane was harmed by this process, Ozpin would _pay_.

[/]

It was strange, being a Maiden… or a half-Maiden, as it were. Generations upon generations of the voices of bygone sisters answered her call, granting her knowledge and power, but Jane was still very much in control. Moreover, she could feel that there were _so many_ of her sisters that were… imprisoned somewhere, and the presences longed for her to find and release them.

Miss Goodwitch had stepped up her personal tutelage of her. Now, her combat training was supplemented by mental control to learn to use and conceal her new powers. Dropping out of the Vytal Tournament entirely would have drawn too much attention, so she just participated in the full team-round, put on a… well, _adequate_ performance, and then sat back to let Pyrrhus and Nora wreck face. She continued to wear the guise of an underwhelming, but otherwise innocuous student.

It was strange. For all that everyone had worried about her losing herself, becoming a Maiden had made her feel more whole than at any time since Forever Fall.

[/]

"We need to run, Jane."

"I can fight!"

"She wants to devour your _soul!_ Your very soul, Jane!"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"It's not just you. If she gets the full powers, we're all doomed."

"What are you planning to -"

Pyrrhus pulled her into a passionate kiss, before fixing her with a sad look. "I'm sorry, Jane."

Pyrrhus used his Semblance to shove Jane into the rocket locker.

"Pyrrhus! Pyrrhus, don't do this! Pyrrhus!"

He punched in coordinates on the locker, then locked eyes with her. "Forgive me, Jane. I love you."

"Pyrrhus!"

The rocket locker launched into the air. Pyrrhus watched it fly, before slowly drawing his sword.

Destiny called.

[/]

Jane didn't need to be told.

She knew that Pyrrhus had fallen as she saw Ozpin's tower crumble into dust. Somehow, he had used his Semblance to pull the whole damn building down on top of himself and that Cinder Fall witch. When she felt the return of the missing sisters flow into her, she knew that that tower could have had no survivors.

Jane was heartbroken, but not surprised, when Qrow brought her what could be found of him… his bronze shoulder pauldron, and his singed cape.

She had screamed, and raged. Jane _loved_ Pyrrhus. She _hated_ him for taking her choice from her, for leaving her alone. She wanted him back, so she could slug him in the face and then kiss the breath out of him. Jane had wanted to lay down and just sleep away the ages, in the hopes that she could see him again in dreams. But she had found the strength to get back up before, and she would do so again.

"We're leaving soon," she told Glynda Goodwitch. The older woman looked drawn and tense, from the effort of coordinating the efforts to find and recover survivors and casualties, and from literally piecing together the remains of Beacon Academy.

"...I suppose there is little point in reminding you that I feel that this is folly?"

Jane shrugged sheepishly. "I'm afraid so. We need answers, and Haven Academy is the only lead we have."

Glynda nodded. "I understand that it would be a futile effort to tell you to stay safe. So in its stead, I implore you to stay strong." She pulled out her collapsible longsword from her bag and tossed it to Jane. "Here, take it. A contingency."

Jane looked at the hilt. "Thank you, Miss Goodwitch. For everything."

"Jane… I want you to know that I'm _so_ proud of you."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Now go on and save the world."

"Yes, ma'am."

**[/]**

**Story Endnotes: So, this story was a… catharsis. An exploration. As a result, it isn't as carefully edited or planned as most of my other stories, and the characters might be odd, or even out-of-character.**

**I just… I just needed to write this, okay? I write. That's just what I do, how I process things.**

**But the good news is, as I got out the feelings of anger and fear and helplessness, I was able to find the higher emotions again, and towards the end, I was even able to imagine romance again.**

**So, yeah, this AU is over. I got out what I needed to. Hopefully, I'll be ready to return to my more normal stories soon.**

**Love,**

**Mahina**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, I lied. I have more issues to work out. Oh, and the reason that the anonymous commenter "Die," called me a degenerate and suggested that I drink bleach didn't have anything to do with this story. It's because I'm transgender and wrote "Falling Snow." I get comments like that from time to time, and decided not to delete it because I just decided to let the ugliness show. Let people know what I see sometimes when I moderate reviews, you know?**

**[/]**

To General James Ironwood of the Atlas Armed Forces, the new arrivals were of the highest interest. On Team RWBY was the only known silver-eyed warrior, the younger of Jacques Schnee's daughters, and the daughter of influential White Fang faunus. Team JNPR boasted the newest incarnation of Ozpin, _and_ the Fall Maiden. The other teens that arrived alongside them were of lesser interest, but were still useful as young Hunters that, having been brought into the loop, he could potentially use to secure Atlas from Salem.

They had proven themselves to be more or less capable according to the commander of the Ace Operatives, Clover Ebi, and would be granted their Huntress licenses accordingly. But before all of that, Ironwood needed to make sure that the power of the Fall Maiden remained under his control.

"Specialist Marrow, I'm glad that you came." The general addressed Marrow Amin. The youngest member of the Ace Ops was a friendly, handsome, outgoing dog Faunus, which made him inappropriate for some of the Ops more… _controversial_ missions. However, those same qualities also made him perfectly well-suited towards keeping a close watch over Fall. And if push came to shove, his Semblance could keep her from fleeing.

Marrow gave a quick salute before falling into parade rest. "Always happy to be of service, General. What's the job?"

Ironwood pressed a button on his desk, projecting an image of the Fall Maiden. "One of the new Huntresses is the Fall Maiden. We need to keep her nature hidden, but we also need to keep her protected. As such, for the foreseeable future, your mission is to guard the Fall Maiden and accompany her on her business as a new Huntress. Keep her safe and keep her close, Specialist."

[/]

The young Hunters-in-training met at the converted Amity Arena. The sight of the floating arena where the end had begun for Beacon set off a myriad of memories and emotions in them all… and reminded them of how far they had come since the Fall.

Ruby Rose, beyond growing taller, had grown wiser in the intervening two years. Her youthful naivety had been tempered, but not broken, by the horrors she'd witnessed, and had yielded to an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Weiss, her long hair done in an elaborate braid, had fought for her independence from her father for good, and had risen from a near-death experience in Haven to become a stronger, wiser fighter. Yang had forced her way past the trauma of losing an arm and being abandoned by her partner and girlfriend, following her sister and putting her long-lost mother behind her. Blake stood with her Faunus cat ears free and exposed. Her friend Sun, at Weiss's insistence, had followed her to Menagerie, helping her come to terms with what had happened to her friends. She had confronted her abusive ex Adam, with Sun at Haven and again with Yang at Argus.

Ren and Nora had confronted the trauma of their childhood in the ruins of Kuroyuri. And Jane?

Jane Arc stood tall and proud. Her armor was now edged in Mistrali Bronze, melted down from the remaining armor of her lost partner and boyfriend, Pyrrhus Nikos. Her armor itself had been upgraded to become more extensive, with long greaves and vambraces, small hip faulds and a short armored skirt. She carried Crocea Mors on her back, and tied the burnt cape of Pyrrhus around her waist to act as a sash. In the years since Beacon, she had truly blossomed into a real beauty. While she was still slender and willowy, she had filled out. Jane now turned heads everywhere she went, but true to form, she was entirely unaware of it.

"It's… strange, to be here," she broke the silence, her voice subdued.

Ruby nodded. "I know what you mean. It's like… so many things have happened since then, but…"

"But here we are," Yang finished for her.

"But here we are," agreed Ren.

[/]

After an awkward speech by General Ironwood, each of them was granted the official license of a Huntress - or Huntsman, in Ren's case. The subdued mood of their earlier conversation lingered through the celebration, to an extent that even Qrow, patron saint of brooding, commented on it. For sure, they had managed to become professional Hunters years before schedule - Ruby Rose was now the youngest professional Hunter, female _or_ male, in history - but it still felt… _hollow_.

Jane was just glad that she wasn't the only one who felt it.

Weiss, being Weiss, immediately wanted to get to work, pulling up the holographic Huntsman job board. "Let's see what we've got available…"

"What's this? Licensed for not even an hour yet, and you're already raring to go?" Two of the Ace Operatives who had accompanied them to clear out the mine strolled into arena. The speaker, Elm, was a tall, powerfully-built woman who used a hammer in battle, while at her side, the friendly dog Faunus Marrow walked with his hands clasped behind his head, looking like he had not a care in the world.

Jane thought he was rather handsome, in his military uniform, and only about four years older than her. She wondered if Pyrrhus would have felt betrayed by her thinking like that.

To her surprise, he walked straight up to her. Despite the years of her working to contain her response since she had been overpowered and raped by her classmates in Forever Fall, Jane still felt her heart begin to pound harder as a man approached her, and she fought down the instinct to take a step back.

Marrow came to a halt in front of her. "So, you're Fall." He held out his hand for a shake.

"My name is Jane." She crossed her arms over her armored chest.

"Well, we knew one of you was the Fall Maiden, but not which one it was. I have to say, you did real good hiding your abilities at the mine. We never would have guessed that it was you."

Jane sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Um… thanks? So, why did you come singling _me_ out to talk to?"

"You're quick on the uptake, huh?" Marrow just shrugged. "I know you're gonna want to go to the job board, but before you do, you should know that I've been assigned to act as your partner and bodyguard."

She stared at him, her earlier thought about Pyrrhus being betrayed roaring back into full force. Now he was being _replaced_? "The… the last man to hold that position didn't fare so well," she said sadly, hoping to turn him away from his assignment.

His mood, and tail, both visibly dropped. "Yeah, I heard about that. Still, he carried out his mission, and completed it at great cost. You should be proud."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "And would you be proud if you ended up dead because someone wanted the power of a Maiden?"

Marrow just shrugged. "That's the job, you know? And I do know that if someone has to have weird magical powers, I'd much rather it stay with someone like you."

He flashed her a grin, and then Jane's heart started racing for an entirely different reason altogether. When she had submitted her armor and weapons to be upgraded, she had also resolved that it had been time to let go of her grieving over Pyrrhus, but honestly, she had never expected someone else to make her feel that same sort of giddy rush that she had felt during the all-too-brief time that they had been together.

What was a girl to do?

As she pondered that question, her teammates joined her. "You okay over here?" Nora asked, code for _do I need to break a motherfucker's legs?_

"Sure, I'm doing okay," answered Jane, code for _please refrain from leg-breaking at this time. _"At any rate, General Ironwood has appointed Marrow here to be my partner and bodyguard. Because of the whole Maiden thing."

Ren and Nora shared a glace. "Well… okay," Nora said, slowly. "Just let us know if he gets a little too close."

"You know, I am standing right here," Marrow pointed out.

"Yeah, but think of it this way… shush."

"_Anyway_," Jane broke in before things started getting loud, "I was just going to check the job board myself. Since you're stuck with me and all, I'll try not to choose something that'll strain you too much."

Without waiting to see if Marrow would follow her, Jane strode over to the job board, where Elm had been boisterously upselling some Grimm elimination job for Team RWBY. The big woman grinned as she saw her approach, Marrow sheepishly following in her wake.

"Ah, so you're Ironwood's special little snowflake?"

"I'm pretty sure that's Weiss," Jane retorted.

"Hey!"

Everyone ignored the former heiress's protest.

"Anyways, I'm just gonna see what's available myself," Jane continued, undaunted. She reached out an armored finger and began scrolling down the holographic interface. "Hmm… no… no… oh, this one looks nice!"

Team RWBY and the two present Ace Operatives peered over her shoulder at the job that Jane had selected.

"What?!" Marrow cried out in disbelief as Elm burst out into laughter, great guffaws as she pointed at her teammate.

"What's the problem?" Jane asked.

"You're… babysitting kids," Yang pointed out. "Escorting them to and from school."

Jane blinked with her large blue eyes. "Uh… yeah? And?"

Weiss gently placed her hand on Jane's shoulder. "Jane, don't you think that that's a little… underwhelming, for a Huntress's first mission?"

"I don't see what's wrong with it," the tall blonde defended, a little put out by the questioning.

Elm hadn't stopped laughing at Marrow, who tried to talk her out of her choice of jobs. "Listen, Fall -"

"My name is Jane," she interjected, crossing her arms once more.

"Yeah, look, this job is… well, in professional circles, it's the crap job. The practical joke that we play on the newbies, or something that we push down the totem pole to someone who royally screwed up somewhere."

"Well, even the crap jobs need to get done, don't they? And Weiss, Yang, think of it this way - while you're trudging out in the muck and the snow, I'll be busy becoming the favoritest Huntress for a whole bunch of adorable little kids."

Yang and Weiss shared a look, their mirth dissipating as it occurred to them that Jane was right.

"And _you_," Jane continued, tracing a finger down Marrow's chest and poking him in the breastbone. "You make sure to pack a traffic vest."

Unheeded by all, Elm had finally managed to reduce her laughter from uproarious to merely extremely loud snickering.

[/]

Marrow tried to remember that, as a Specialist, it was his job to serve the people in whatever capacity they required, no matter how vastly overqualified he was for the task at hand. He was a member of the Ace Operatives, the best Huntsmen in the world, and he had achieved that distinction at a young age. Marrow was a representative of the potential of the Faunus, a paragon of his people.

That was one of two reasons why Marrow didn't punt his new "partner" off a bridge, as retaliation for dragging him into a humiliating task. As for the other reason?

As they reached the school, one of the kids, a little girl, tugged on Jane's arm. Marrow watched as Jane knelt to allow the girl to hug her around the neck. "Bye, Miss Arc!"

"Bye, Kaylee!" Jane returned the gesture in kind. "Be sure to study hard in school!"

The other reason Marrow didn't punt his partner off a bridge was seeing just how unabashedly _gleeful_ she was to be doing something, anything, for the civilian populace. As she stood up and waved goodbye to the children, Jane turned back to Marrow, and his heart practically stopped. Her smile was wide, light and carefree, and her huge blue eyes shone with an inner joy. That wild blonde hair of her whipped around in the breeze. The girl was practically _glowing_.

Ah hell, there goes his tail, wagging wildly again.

[/]

She met him in the briefing room. It was, in Jane's expert opinion, way too early for this sort of thing, but at least she had a nice, hot, steaming cup of…

Marrow stared at the coffee in her hand longingly, then looked up at her with huge, puppy-dog eyes.

With a sigh, Jane relented and handed over her coffee. "You're lucky you're cute, Amin."

[/]

"So, what _are_ we doing here?"

"We're helping, duh."

"You know you're not getting paid for this, right?"

"I know, but we've got some time to burn until the kids are done, and with everyone else busy, well… we might as well do what we can, right?"

"I mean, we could have got something to eat. That is also something we could have done."

"Heh. We can eat after we deliver these supplies, Marrow. It's not that far to the farmhouse."

"How did you even arrange this anyway?"

"Well, I talked to the owner when I met him in the market. He said he was having trouble getting stuff to and from the farm with the Grimm about."

"You just… talked to random people on the street?"

"Yeah, why not? My mom always said that strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet."

"That seems… extraordinarily dangerous. Not everyone can be trusted, you know."

"Oh, I know. Believe me, I know. But I can't go around treating everyone like an imminent threat, not without them giving me reason to. That's just no way to live, you know? So, come on slowpoke, heft those crates. We're almost there!"

"…"

"...This girl's like some kind of saint or something…"

[/]

Marrow was a professional. That was what he told himself, anyway. It was what kept him from kicking six different colors of crap out of bigoted idiots when he was just out trying to do his job.

"Go on, boy, fetch!"

He took a deep breath as the empty beer bottle missed his head by inches, sailing past him to clatter loudly against the pavement.

"Hey, you!"

Oh, right. He had a partner now. Marrow watched, bemused, as Jane marched up to the drunken human who had been harassing him. She put her hand on her hip as she looked the man up and down.

"Now, civilian, I _know_ you're not interfering with a duly licensed Huntsman in the course of his business."

The heavyset human scratched his head. "Uh…"

"Because _I'm_ a licensed Huntress too, and during a period of civic uncertainty, I'm afraid I'd be obliged to run you in. Matter of national security, you know."

He'd be lying if Marrow said that he didn't enjoy watching the lout pale under Jane's threat.

"But I'm still a new Huntress. Marrow here, he's an _elite_. So I'm sure he'd know what the penalties for obstructing a Huntsman in a time of emergency would be. Marrow?"

He crossed his arms, pretending to think it over. "Well, depends. Best case scenario, he'd be imprisoned for the duration of the emergency, plus two years. If the judge finds that the obstruction is a deliberate act of treason… well, you'd be in the slammer for a long, long time."

The human started stammering. "I, er, it was just, you know, a joke. Right?"

Jane crossed her arms. "I dunno. Didn't sound much like a joke to me. But, I bet if you were to apologize to my partner here, he'd be less likely to haul you to jail."

He turned to Marrow, visibly sweating. "I… I'm sorry," he gritted out from between clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry…" Jane led.

"I'm sorry, _sir_."

Ooh, that looked painful.

Marrow stared at the civilian. "Get out of my sight, civilian. And don't go interfering again, or I'll drag you in."

"Uh, thank you, sir!" He scampered off.

Marrow watched him go, then felt Jane's hand on his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I usually just try to ignore them when I'm on the job."

"And when you're off?"

"Well, can't be dragged before a disciplinary board if they never hear of anything, right?"

"Right."

[/]

She smiled at him as she approached him in the briefing room. This time, she brought _two_ cups of coffee.

[/]

Nora knew that giggle. That was a Beacon giggle. No, that was a _Pyrrhus_ giggle.

She watched carefully from behind her cup as Jane, sitting across from her at the Atlas Academy Mess Hall, tried very hard to pretend as though she hadn't been gazing at her Ace Operative and giggling like the schoolgirl she was still supposed to be.

Jane coughed awkwardly. "I don't suppose that you could just, uh… maybe ignore that, could you?"

"Well, I could, but it wouldn't help anything." Nora reached out to take Jane's hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The blonde girl sighed. "I mean… he's funny, funnier than you'd think at first. He tries to hide it under his professionalism, but he really does care a lot about justice, and about being an example for his people, and that puts a weight on him. And of course, he's just so damn _dashing_ and handsome… only four years older than me… the biggest thing, I guess, is that I just kinda feel… _comfortable_ around him, and you know how big a thing that is for me."

Nora grinned. "So, what's the problem? Just hop over there and get you some!"

"I just…" Jane hesitated. "I feel like I'm betraying Pyrrhus by thinking that way, you know?"

"Aw, Jane…"

Jane gave her friend what she hoped was her most reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm not going on any suicidal death marches any time in the foreseeable future."

"That's right, missy!" Nora wielded her fork distressingly close to Jane's face. "Pyrrhus didn't run off and save your bacon for you to go and throw it in the garbage. And speaking of that…" Nora sobered, her voice becoming softer more tender. "You know, when he went to fight that witch, he didn't mean to just save your life physically. He would have wanted you to have a whole life, and eventually, that could mean… you know, romance."

Jane absently twirled her fork around on her plate, then bit her lower lip as she looked over to where Marrow, having finished speaking with Clover, began to make his way over to her.

"Heya, Jane, Crazy Hammer Girl." Marrow bore his happy grin as he sat down next to Jane. "So, what misadventures are you two cooking up over here?"

"_Actually_," Nora began, her tone sly. "_I _was thinking that you two should get some more training in. You know, in case you _actually_ run into something more dangerous out there, you'll want to know how well you two… _mesh _together?" Nora wagged her eyebrows at that last part.

Jane stared at her, appalled at her idea of "helping," Fortunately, Marrow seemed oblivious to Nora's insinuation. "I suppose that could be useful," he mused. "You know, Team FNKI's been looking for some training time. What about you and me go and kick their butts?"

"You should totally do it!"

Jane sighed. "Thanks, Nora. Sure, let's go," she said, trying to ignore how Marrow's tail wagged happily when she spoke to him.

[/]

"Ooh! How am I supposed to talk trash when I don't know enough about you to diss you?!"

Jane smirked at Neon Katt's frustration. The gregarious cat Faunus was friendly enough in day-to-day interactions, but her irritating fight banter was the stuff of legend. Blake still refused to talk to her after some comment her fellow feline had made during a bout. Jane didn't know what Neon had said, exactly, but it must have been pretty bad to elicit that sort of reaction.

She had been expecting Neon to make some sort of vicious crack about Pyrrhus's death, bracing herself for it, but to her surprise, the girl never once brought it up. Maybe she had some standards after all.

Not that her trash-talking, or uncharacteristic lack thereof, had actually helped Neon at all. With her newly-enhanced shield, Jane had powered through Flynt Coal's sonic barrage and clobbered him, while Marrow had taken on the other half of Team FNKI single-handedly. While her partner was wrapping that up, Jane had simply chased Neon around the training room, silently lamenting her lack of mobility relative to the nimble, speedy Faunus - at least, a lack when keeping her abilities as a Maiden under wraps.

"Must be hard to run in heels."

Jane looked over to see that Marrow had joined her in her pursuit. "Well, some genius thought that my new boots needed to make my butt look nice instead of being comfy, " she groused.

She gasped when Marrow blatantly tilted his head to check out said butt. "Yep. Genius indeed," he deadpanned. "Need to find whoever designed your armor and shake his hand, maybe buy him a beer in thanks. I friggin' _love_ Atlas engineering."

"Marrow!" Jane flushed fully, the redness even reaching down her neck. That he gave her a sly wink before leaping ahead of Neon didn't help matters.

Neon skidded to a stop, looking to break right and evade her pursuers. "Uh-oh!"

Before she could slip away, Marrow, with a truly, magnificently smug smirk, pointed at her. "Stay," he commanded. Neon stood stock-still, a complete and perfect paralysis.

Jane blanched as she jogged up to them. "Marrow? What's that? What did you do to her?"

Marrow remained in place, pointing at the cat Faunus. "It's my Semblance. I can freeze people just by pointing at them and saying the magic word. She's completely trapped now. You can do whatever you want to her to end the fight. Beat her up, toss her out of bounds, draw a silly mustache on her, the works. It's all part of… Jane?"

Beside him, Jane had begun to shake and tremble violently.

"Jane?"

"Let her go," she ordered.

"Uh…"

"I said _let her go!_" Jane shrieked, a corona of white flames erupting from her eyes.

Marrow immediately released his Semblance. "Whoa, whoa, what's -"

Before he could utter another word, Jane stormed out of the training room. Marrow looked over at Neon, who was scratching her head. "Bout's over," he said. "That flame you saw was Jane's Semblance. It's strategically-important that no one knows about it, so don't say _anything_ about it to _anyone_, okay?"

Neon nodded, pressing the heel of her hands to her eyes. "Ugh, yeah, sure, okay. Man, that thingy you did gave me a headache."

The Specialist didn't bother to stay to listen to more of the girl's complaint, instead striding out of the room to follow Jane.

He found her staring out of a window in the hallway, looking out over Atlas Academy. At least the Aura flare had died down, but she still looked upset.

"Jane?" He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but she stepped away from him.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped. Slowly, he put his hand back down.

She didn't turn to look at him. "What do you want, Marrow?"

"Well, an explanation for what the hell was with that little display would be nice, for starters. I had to come up with an excuse to the cat girl for the eye coronas. That's not being discreet, Jane."

The Fall Maiden shifted uncomfortably for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I… I was afraid of your Semblance, Marrow."

He scratched his head. "My Semblance? Why?"

"... You could do anything to her. You said it yourself."

"Uh… that's what makes it useful in a fight, Jane. Complete paralysis."

Jane sighed, then finally turned to face him. "Marrow… a few years back, when I was at Beacon… I made an enemy of another student, guy named Cardin Winchester. At the class trip to Forever Fall, he and his team attacked my team, separated us. They dragged me away, and he had his teammates hold me down, and…" she dropped her gaze, unwilling to look him in the eye. "He raped me, Marrow."

His tail fell mournfully. "Jane…"

She took a deep breath to steel herself, then looked back up to meet his gaze. "He raped me," she repeated, firmly. "I felt helpless, and useless, and…I was afraid of men for a long, long time. I still am, at least a little." She reached out and gently placed her hand on Marrow's cheek. "I… I was comfortable around you, at least. Moreso than any guy since Pyrrhus."

"Was?"

"I don't want to be afraid of you, Marrow, I don't. But… your Semblance… it frightens me. Makes me remember feelings that I thought I'd left behind. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

For once, Marrow's brain did the smart thing, shutting his mouth before he could point out that, one-on-one, he stood a better-than-even shot of overpowering her even without his Semblance. Instead, he gently reached up and took the hand that she had placed on his cheek, and just asked her, "So, what can I do to stop making you afraid?"

"Promise me."

"Promise you?"

She nodded. "Promise me that you won't use your Semblance on me, Marrow. Promise me that you'll never trap me with it, that you'll never make me feel that way when I'm with you. Promise me, or I swear I'll go to Ironwood right now and demand another partner."

It was both the most reasonable demand, and the most impossible one. By all rights, as an Atlas Specialist and a member of the prestigious Ace Operatives, Marrow should have told this upstart, neophyte Huntress _exactly_ where she could take that ultimatum and shove it. But as he stood there, staring into the deep blue eyes of this beautiful, brave, _amazing_ young girl that he had been working alongside for weeks…

"Okay," he said. "I promise."

"I believe you." Almost as if despite herself, a smile flitted across your face. "I… _believe_ you," she repeated, her voice soft and wondering.

Marrow felt his heart practically stop when her smile blossomed fully, brilliantly. He knew it really shouldn't have. As a Specialist of Atlas, he shouldn't have returned that smile with one of his own. He shouldn't have let his tail wag happily at seeing her so joyous to find that she trusted him, or felt proud that she felt that way. He really shouldn't have caught her when she leapt into his arms, and he shouldn't have relished the feeling of the bare flesh of her thighs in his hands as he supported her weight. He shouldn't have allowed her to wrap her long legs around his waist, or take such note of how her hair smelled of vanilla and wildflowers.

As a professional, he should have pulled back when Jane pressed her soft lips to his, the girl hungrily trying to devour him in her need. He shouldn't have let himself linger on the taste of strawberry lip gloss and the breath mints that she popped as a matter of habit.

Above all, he shouldn't have carried her to his quarters.

[/]

Her cuirass hit the ground with a muffled clank, followed shortly by her shoulder pauldrons. She tugged at Marrow's jacket and stole his ascot for her own with a wicked little smirk. Jane's boots touched down for the first time since the hallway when the back of Marrow's knees hit the bed. She used her knees to pry his legs apart, standing between them to nibble his neck and chest.

Her Scroll vibrated, unheeded, on the floor.

Marrow flailed an arm in the direction of his nightstand. "Condom," he rasped.

Oh. That _would _be a good idea.

Jane relented from her attempts to eat his clavicle for long enough to find the wrapped prophylactic in the nightstand, then began tugging his trousers down. Her heart was racing as she saw the extent of his arousal, of the effect that she was having on him. It made her feel beautiful, desirable… _powerful_. Distantly, she wondered if she would have done this with Pyrrhus, had he lived, but before she could lose herself in thoughts of loss and regret, she remembered Nora's words.

She would always love Pyrrhus, and treasure the time that she'd had with him. But it was time to look _forward_.

Slowly, she peeled off her black padded undershirt, baring her small, perky breasts. Marrow growled pulling her close to him again. Jane tossed her head back as he planted a line of kisses from her lips, chin, down her neck, and onto her breast. His clever hands reached under her skirt, pulling her panties down, allowing her to step out of them while she slipped the condom onto his manhood. He was hot and hard under her hand.

"Jane..." he croaked, his voice straining with need.

She put her hand on his lean, muscular chest and gently pushed him onto his back, then swinging a leg over him to straddle his pelvis. Jane gazed down at the young soldier, laying before her. Desire burned in her core. She felt… _fear_ would have been too much. _Fear_ had been what she'd felt back in Forever Fall. This was more like anxiety, or trepidation. She was taking a step, but it was for her to decide to take it.

Slowly, Jane lowered herself onto her lover, greedily engulfing him in her slick depths. She shuddered, eyes closed in newly-felt erotic pleasure, then opened them once more to lock gazes with him. Carefully, experimentally, she began to grind her hips against him, and was rewarded with the discovery of a place inside that made her feel even better when he stroked against it.

She reveled in the sensations she was feeling. His large hands sliding up her bare back, or caressing her breast, the jolt as she lifted herself up and ground back down around him.

Jane allowed herself to surrender to her passion.

[/]

He couldn't bring himself to regret it.

Marrow idly stroked his fingers up and down Jane's naked hip, smiling happily at the sleeping girl in his arms. He wondered if it would be a bad idea to let her know that she snored in her sleep. When she awoke, he would need to talk to her, to find some bearing. This had been… unexpected, to say the very least, and he needed to find out where, exactly, he stood with her.

He _really_ wasn't looking forward to reporting this development to General Ironwood.

But, those were problems for tomorrow. For tonight, at least, he had a beautiful girl warming his bed. He closed his eyes, looking to get some rest. What Jane had lacked in experience, she'd more than made up in sheer enthusiasm, and he needed some sleep, badly.

So of course, that's when the pounding began at his door.

"Jane?! Are you in there?"

He recognized the voice on the other side as belonging to Jane's friend, the Crazy Hammer Girl. The commotion stirred the Fall Maiden from her slumber.

"Marrow?" she asked sleepily. "What is-"

She never got to finish her question as his door burst open. Jane had just enough time to draw up the sheet to cover herself before her friends - _all of them_ \- spilled into the room.

"Jane!" Crazy Hammer Girl called out. She came to a halt as she realized the pair's state of undress and the strong scent of sex lingering in the air. Unfortunately, she was the only one who Jane had discussed her growing attraction to Marrow with, and the others, remembering the traumatic events of Forever Fall, drew their weapons.

The blonde Punch Girl spoke first, her eyes red. "Jane? Do we have a situation here?"

Marrow held his hands up. "Whoa, hang on here - "

Jane looked to the side demurely, her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "It's, um... it's okay everyone. It was my idea."

"Oh!" Punch Girl's eyes changed to purple as she cheerily retracted her guns, her actions mimicked by the rest of the teenaged Hunters invading his room. "Well, that's different then. You need to answer your Scroll, you know. I guess you were… busy?" She said, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm sorry for worrying everyone," Jane said, still unable to look anyone in the eye. "I, uh…"

"It's all good!" Punch Girl reached into her pocket and tossed a wrapped condom towards the bed. "Round Two is on me!"

They began filing out of the room, though Marrow noted that Winter's little sister openly ogled him for a moment before Small Scythe Girl dragged her out of the room. Finally, only Crazy Hammer Girl and Ninja Kid remained.

"You break her heart, I'll break your legs," the redhead said seriously. Beside her, Ninja Kid merely nodded with solemn gravity. "Okay, have fun Jane!" Crazy Hammer Girl, mood switching like a light, waved jauntily as she and Ninja Kid took their leave.

Jane flopped back onto the bed, uncaring of her nudity. "Whelp, so much for discretion."

[/]

"I must say, I'm surprised at this development, Specialist."

"General, I -"

"I hadn't expected you to opt for such a subtle approach, but it works well to keeping the Fall in Atlas."

"Her name is Jane, sir."

"Yes, well, it's still easier to keep Fall in Atlas if she wants to stay in Atlas. Just make sure that it's _you_ drawing her in, and not the other way around."

"Sir?"

"What? You were expecting a reprimand? It's a clever angle to take, if a little ruthless. Assuming, of course, that you planned this for the sake of the mission, and weren't just thrown off-balance by a pretty face."

"..."

"That's what I thought. Dismissed."

[/]

She had been expecting the teasing from Yang, or the intrusive questions from Blake, but it was the naked curiosity from Weiss that took Jane by surprise. Her white-haired friend had practically cornered her to ask about her night of passion with Marrow.

"So, what made you decide to sleep with him?"

Jane's cheeks had adopted a more-or-less permanent blush at her friends' antics. Still, they meant well, so she figured she could humor them, for a little while, at least. "I just… felt that I could trust him, and that it was time. He didn't pressure me or anything. If anything, I'm the one who jumped him."

Weiss chewed her lower lip. "So, was there anything about him being Faunus that made it, you know, _different_?"

Realization struck Jane, and she grinned smugly. "Why, Weiss, are you planning on some sort of _special_ reunion with Mister Wukong when we meet him again?"

The bright red flush spreading across Weiss's face, and even up to the tips of her ears, let Jane know that she struck right on the money. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I mean, I was just, maybe _thinking_ about it," stammered Weiss.

"Well, to answer your question, no, not really, but then different Faunus have different features. You just need to find the right balance. They're Faunus, and it makes no sense to not recognize that, but you also can't fetishize them, you know? So, I mean, maybe Sun would want to use his tail, and that could be fun, but just don't be weird about it."

"How do you do that?" Weiss asked, frustrated.

"I dunno, I just kinda jumped Marrow, and let things work themselves out from there" shrugged Jane.

"Jane!" Weiss cried, scandalized. "That's terrible!"

"Oh, it was _anything_ but terrible," Jane remarked, looking very much like the cat who ate the canary. "But seriously," she said, her tone softer. "Just follow your feelings. You'll know if the time is right when you see him again."

[/]

"So, did you do her… you know, _doggystyle?_"

"Shut up, Bree."

"I mean, when you stick close to a target, you _stick close_ to a target, am I right?"

"Harriet, I'm serious. Shut. Up."

"I always wondered, do you have a knot down there? Maybe I should ask Fall if you got stuck in her."

Marrow spun on his heel, teeth bared. "If you say one word of this to her, I swear -"

"Hey, kids," Clover interrupted. "Stow the argument until after we get done here, alright?"

The dog Faunus scowled, but held his tongue. "Yes, sir."

"And Marrow, if you don't want to get teased about sleeping with the subject of your protection detail, than either don't sleep with her, or learn to be more discreet."

"Oh, like you're not crushing hard on that Qrow guy?"

An awkward silence fell over the group. "Uh… sir," Marrow added lamely.

"That'll be enough out of you today, Marrow."

[/]

They watched as rounds from Marrow's rifle cracked into the Beowulves, throwing them off balance just as Jane's furious charge reached them. As they recoiled from the shots, the Huntress whipped the tip of her sword in a short, brutal arc that cut through the beast's torso, before recovering her guard and lashing out with an efficient stab to another Grimm. Without pausing, she braced her shield, just in time for Marrow to land on it. Pushing up with her long, powerful legs, she sent the Specialist flying into the air, towards the next group of Grimm.

"You'd think they'd been doing this for years," Ren muttered.

Nora just shrugged. "I'm just glad she has someone watching her back again. I was worried about her."

"Yeah. If only he were _just_ watching her back."

She nudged him. "C'mon, Ren. We haven't seen her this happy since…"

"Since Pyrrhus," he finished for her. "I know. Doesn't mean that I trust him with her."

"Well, that's her call, not yours."

Ren grunted. "True. Doesn't mean we can't keep an eye on them."

[/]

It was supposed to be a routine job. Barely even a job, closer to recreation. They were to go to the election night party for Robyn Hill, and just keep a lid on things. Jacques friggin' Schnee was projected to lose, so it really just amounted to maybe keeping any drunken celebrations down to a dull roar.

Gods, there was so much blood…

Jane was no stranger to death, not any longer. It was, after all, why she fought so hard to keep the rest of her friends alive and well. She'd unlocked her Semblance to save Weiss's life, her Aura Amplification being nothing short of a miracle. Even so, they all knew that their chosen path was a dangerous one, and few Hunters died peacefully.

Emphasis on _Hunters_.

Their role, their calling, their sacred duty was to put their lives on the line so that others could live in peace. The ordinary men, women and children who formed society, the shopkeepers and janitors, schoolchildren and dock workers, the doctors and cooks and couriers, all of the people who went about making a society worth the defending.

They'd failed them that night.

He found her among the dead.

Jane knelt, unheeding of the blood on her knee, clutching a body to her chest. Great, rasping sobs tore out of her, knifing through the silence of the room.

The mother had tried. She didn't have fancy armor, or spiritual powers to repel the high-powered bullets that had torn through and through. In the end, she had done all the she could, shielding her daughter with her own body.

It hadn't been enough.

Marrow recognized the little girl as one of the children that they had been escorting to and from school, the one who had given Jane a hug around the neck. The girl seemed almost unnaturally small as she lay still in Jane's arms, pale from blood loss.

Cautiously, he approached her.

"Jane."

She looked up at him, stricken. Steam rose from the Aura coronas around her eyes as they flash-vaporized the tears.

"Jane," he repeated. "We need to report this to General Ironwood."

He heard it. Hell, he _felt_ it, a sound, like thunder, a primal force within Jane that had been building for eons, generation upon generation of women adding to it with their lives, their dreams, their very souls.

"I _will_ kill that man," she swore.

Marrow gulped, then steadied himself. "We'll get him," he promised her, in a voice that he hoped was calmer than he felt. "We will. But first, you need to put the girl down and come with me."

She looked down at the girl again, staring at her for a long moment. Finally, she gently lowered her to the ground, nestled once more next to the mother who had died trying to save her. Jane reached out and carefully closed the girl's eyes.

The thunder faded away, and after a moment, so did the coronas. "I'm… I'm okay, Marrow."

He pulled her to her feet.

"Let's go."

[/]

It wasn't often that Maidens met. Ironwood felt it prudent to have as many Specialists on hand as he could, just in case they reacted violently. The Winter Maiden sat up in bed as Fall silently entered the room.

They stared at each other for a long moment, the elder and the younger. Slowly, Fall made her way over to Winter's bedside. The old woman reached out to the girl, pulling her in close, the two touching their foreheads together.

"Sister," said the Winter Maiden.

"Sister," Fall responded in kind.

The two separated. "I am glad to see you," Fria said, her smile wide.

Jane fidgeted. "You… you know how I became a Maiden, right? Does it still feel right to you?"

Fria canted her head, amused. "Girl, you should know that Maidens choose ourselves, irrespective of what machinations _men_ try to contrive. The sisters recognized you, the half-broken soul trying to pull herself back together, just as they were. Believe me, if you weren't meant to become a Maiden, you wouldn't have been able to do so."

Jane sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"I suppose I am, girl."

"I may need to reveal myself as a Maiden soon, sister. There are a lot of lives at stake, and someone out there is gunning for us specifically. No one is safe from them. Not even children."

Fria lay back onto her bed. "It's always something, you know. Wars, famine, plague, the Grimm… the cycle never stops."

"What, so I should just sit back and do nothing because bad things always happen?"

The Winter Maiden sat up again and reached out for Jane… then _flicked_ her right on the forehead, making the girl yelp. "Brothers save me from the obliviousness of blondes," she chuckled, as Jane rubbed her forehead. "No. You will have your own place in this turning of the wheel. What I _mean_ is that you should discern where and what that place is, and let _no one_ dissuade you from it. Never lose sight of your own strength, sister. Others will try and help you, or try and chain you, but your strength is what will set you free."

Jane nodded. "Thank you, sister."

Fria smiled once more. "Go on, girl. I'm sure that we'll see each other again soon."

[/]

She opened her door, and was surprised to see Marrow standing there, a bouquet of roses in hand. Jane shook her head, unable to stop herself from smiling.

"Wow, going real old-fashioned, huh?"

"I prefer to think of it as 'classic'"

"Well, who am I to turn down such a gentleman?" she laughed as he offered her his arm.

[/]

She could tell right away that Marrow was uncomfortable at the Schnee mansion. He had quickly realized that, with the sole exceptions of himself and Blake, every Faunus there was a servant.

"I think I'd best wait outside," he told Jane.

She frowned. "Don't you mean _we_ should wait outside?" Marrow gently took her by the upper arms, causing her to flush and shudder happily at the contact.

"Not this time," he told her. "You can go and move in places that a Faunus simply can't, not without drawing the wrong kind of attention. Besides, if I have to hear one more reference to 'keeping a tight leash' or 'muzzling,' I can't be really be held responsible for what I do."

Jane chuckled, then brushed some of his dark green hair from his face. "I'm sorry, Marrow."

"Hey, you didn't do anything." He got a sly, almost wild grin on his face. "Wanna make these uptight aristos all kind of uncomfortable?"

She batted her lashes at him with exaggerated modesty. "Why, Specialist Marrow, _what ever_ could you be suggesting?"

He stepped closer to her. "Well, I would never presume, Huntress Arc."

She matched his wild smirk with one of her own. "Doesn't mean that _I _wouldn't." She kissed him, taking no small satisfaction in the scandalized gasps of the crowd. Someone even dropped a glass.

Jane stepped back and gently pushed Marrow's chest. "Don't wander too far." She turned and strode back into the main ballroom, her head raised as high as any conquering queen as the elite of Atlas society parted before her.

[/]

She hacked down the Grimm with the ease of long practice. "They're everywhere!"

Marrow walked backwards towards her, his rifle kicking as he fired into the pack of surging Grimm. "We need to get these kids out of here!"

"I'm on it!" Jane activated her radio. "Ren, I need you and your Semblance. Rendezvous at the east square, ASAP!"

"_I'm on my way_," the quiet Huntsman's answer crackled over her radio.

Back-to-back, Jane and Marrow slew every Grimm that so much as looked at the children. They looked up at them with unabashed hero worship, the Atlas Specialist and the Angel of War. Jane knelt down to them.

"Hey, guys. We need to be brave, okay?"

Ren soon arrived on the scene, a shaken Nora in tow.

"Are you okay?" Jane asked her friend.

Nora nodded. "Y-yeah. It's just… real messy out there. With people, I mean."

"Okay. Ren, I'm going to boost your Semblance, and then you and Nora are gonna escort these little guys to the evac point, okay?"

Ren nodded his assent. Jane put her hand on his shoulder, and soon, the children greyed out, their emotions settling into a serene calm. "Right. Move out," Jane ordered.

When Jane turned back to Marrow, the dog Faunus looked stricken.

"Marrow? What is it?"

He shook his head. "Word from Ironwood. Something… something _bad_ has gone down. There's a warrant out for your friends on Team RWBY, and the General wants you and your team there to explain yourselves."

Jane felt her blood run cold. She had argued with Ruby about the necessity of telling Ironwood about the revelations about Salem that they'd uncovered, before ultimately deciding to follow the girl's lead. Given how Leo Lionheart had turned traitor, a bit of caution was not unwarranted, but had they put off informing Ironwood for too long?

Still, while she'd thought that the General might be angry, or would pull their licenses in retaliation, Jane never would have thought that he would have had them imprisoned. The fact that he was willing to imprison four extremely talented Huntresses, one of whom was the last known Silver-Eyed Warrior, during a _Grimm invasion_ told her that, whatever it was that had happened up there, it had left Ironwood seriously unbalanced.

"Marrow," she said. "I need to get Ren and Nora, and then we're going to go find Ruby. I need you to talk to Ironwood, find out what it is that's got him acting like this. I know those girls, and no matter it might have seemed, they only have the best interest of the people of Remnant at heart. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can get everyone back on the same page."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sure you're right, Jane, but… I have orders to take you to him. Once you're there, I'm sure you can talk him down."

She blinked. "Marrow, I'm not just going to leave Team RWBY on their own out there, not with all of this going down. Whenever RWBY is in trouble, JNPR is right there with them. That's how it's _always_ been, and that's how it's always going to be."

Marrow's tail drooped. "I'm sorry, Jane. I have orders, direct, no-wiggle-room orders. I _need_ you and your friends to come with me."

Jane shook her head. "That's not going to happen. Look, we'll meet up after this is all over, explain things to him -"

"Jane, I _can't_ disobey my orders! I'm a soldier!"

"And _I _can't go against my _friends!_"

They stood there, their words echoing in the abandoned square around them.

Finally, Jane turned away. "I'm sorry, Marrow. I need to leave."

"No, I'm sorry, Jane. I can't let you leave." She had just enough time to turn back to him to see him pointing at her.

"_Stay_."

[/]

Her heart would have been pounding out of her chest, but it couldn't. Marrow wouldn't let it. Jane would have been hyperventilating out of panic from how helpless she was, but she couldn't. Marrow wouldn't let her. Tears would have welled from her eyes from her heart breaking from the realization that he broke his promise, but they couldn't. Marrow wouldn't let them.

Instantly, she was catapulted back to Forever Fall, how she felt when Cardin and his cronies held her down. They had ignored her will, had forced her, had fundamentally _violated_ her. Marrow wasn't pushing her down, wasn't driving himself into her body. He was apologizing, making some excuses to her as he fixed cuffs to her, but Jane wasn't listening. Even in Forever Fall, Team CRDL hadn't had the ability to take away her ability to kick, to scream, or even to cry.

Jane wasn't having it.

He had promised her. She had _believed_ him, trusted him, let her into her body and her heart, allowing herself to be vulnerable before him because she truly believed that he wouldn't hurt her.

Something within her snapped.

The relationship between Aura, Semblances, and the magic of the Maidens was complicated, and not fully understood. That an Aura transfer machine had been able to infuse Jane with the powers of the Fall Maiden - or half of them, at least - proved that there was a link between Aura and the magic, though Maidens were able to call upon their magical abilities without draining their Aura, or when their Aura had been broken.

Jane had unlocked her Semblance as Weiss had been dying of a mortal wound, using her prodigious Aura to amplify her friend's own Aura to such an extent that she had not only survived, but had been temporarily boosted to new heights of power from the experience. In the process, they had discovered that Jane's Semblance didn't work as 'Jane _plus_ the Aura of her subject' so much as 'Jane _multiplied_ by her subject.'" Ordinarily, the Aura signatures of her sisters, the source of her power as the Fall Maiden, lay dormant. Now, in her panic, distress and heartbreak, they rose to her call, eager to guide and defend their youngest sister.

And Jane reached out with her feelings, instinctively boosting them with her Semblance.

_All _of them. Generations of women stretching back throughout history combined their strength, experience and power with her, becoming more than the sum of their parts.

Jane detonated.

A burst of white Aura swept out from her, knocking Marrow off of his feet, to tumble across the broken asphalt of the road until he crashed against a nearby building. Jane's Aura swirled in a cyclone of terrible power, burning like the heart of a star. As if an afterthought, she snapped the cuffs binding her wrists together as if they were a flimsy child's toy.

As quickly as it had come, it faded down again, as Jane, now freed from Marrow's control, drew that power back into herself. Only the corona around her eyes remained, fueled by her anguish and outrage.

Slowly, deliberately, Jane strode over to where Marrow had been picking himself off of the ground. She assisted him, by grabbing him by the throat and slamming him through a wall, before planting him into the ground.

"Jane-" Marrow began to try and reason with her, but the Fall Maiden wasn't having it. She grabbed his ankle and whipped him through another wall, sending him crashing roughly into an abandoned kitchen. He staggered and grabbed onto a counter, only to let go as she slammed her armored shin into his gut.

"_You promised me!_" she screamed at him. Jane drove her armored fist into his ribs, then stepped in to stomp on his instep, bash his jaw with her elbow, then grab his braided hair and yank it hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground once more.

Marrow was dazed, hurt, and pretty sure that pissing off the Fall Maiden was the worst decision of his life, a realization that only deepened as she punted him in the ribs so hard that he went crashing through more walls, hitting the street outside and rolling to a stop.

Jane stormed out after him, only stopping when she saw that Marrow's Aura flickered and then broke. No more Aura meant no more Semblance, which meant that he couldn't hurt her any longer.

She looked at him, as he struggled to stand once more. Her rage had played itself out, and now all she felt was an eerie calm.

"Jane!"

The Fall Maiden turned to see Ren and Nora run back to her. "Are you okay?" Nora asked. "We saw a light and heard crashing sounds! What happened?"

Jane took a deep breath. "Team RWBY is in trouble. Ironwood has called for their arrest. He also ordered us brought to him. _He_," Jane practically spat, referring to Marrow, "tried to force the issue. Do you know his Semblance?" Upon seeing their nods, she continued. "He promised me he would never use it on me. He promised me that he would never make me feel helpless when I was with him. He broke that promise."

"Jane," Marrow tried to plea.

"You don't get to address me," Jane snapped, her tone colder than the Solitas winds. "You don't get to address me ever again." She turned back to her teammates. "I need to meet with Team RWBY, find out what's going on."

Ren stepped forward. "Jane, Oscar's missing, and so is the Relic."

She let out a deep sigh. "All right. I'm going to see if I can find RWBY, you guys look for Oscar, and we'll meet up, okay?"

"Right."

Jane clapped her friends on the shoulder. With the masquerade dropped, there was no reason to hide her powers any longer. With the wind at her command, Jane took to the skies, flying up towards Atlas.

Marrow watched as the best thing that had ever happened to him flew away from his life. He was wrenched out of his thoughts by the sudden, shocking impact of a hammer to the back of his legs, screaming as the bones snapped under the hit, dropping him once more to the ground.

"I warned you," was all Nora had by way of explanation to the wounded Specialist.

[/]

General Ironwood used his robotic hand to pinch the bridge of his nose as he addressed his so-called "Ace Operatives." Vine, Elm, and Harriet had proven to be no match for Team RWBY, and Marrow, having been wheeled into the briefing with his legs and ribs in casts and bandages, had clearly taken the beating of a lifetime. While not part of the Ace Ops, even Winter had failed him, having been pummeled to an inch of her life and reporting that the powers of the Winter Maiden had gone to the damn gynoid, of all things. How was that even possible?

Clover couldn't get back soon enough. Ironwood desperately needed competent, loyal subordinates at his command.

"So let me see if I have this straight," he growled. "You three," he began, pointing towards the main group of Ace Ops, "failed to apprehend a group of neophyte Huntresses. In fact, not only did you fail to apprehend them, but they overpowered you in direct combat. Meanwhile _you_," he continued, moving to address Marrow, who had sat sullenly in the corner, "failed to use your personal relationship to the Fall Maiden to keep her under control, and damn near got beat to death for your trouble."

"Her name is Jane," Marrow said, dejected.

The General just shook his head. "Finally, _you_," he pointed to Winter Schnee, "failed to utilize the Aura Transfer machine as instructed, were attacked by either the Spring or Summer Maiden, and managed to lose the Winter Maiden's power to _Penny,_ of all things."

Silence fell over the soldiers.

"_This_ is my elite force?!"

"Sir!" If looks could kill, Ironwood's glare at the low-ranked soldier who had interrupted him with a salute would have vaporized the girl.

"Ensign, unless this is end-of-the-world important, you have two seconds to get out of my face."

"General, the scouts report an unknown flying Grimm of massive scale approaching the city!"

The ensign turned on the holodisplay, where they witnessed the Grimm Queen Salem riding astride what appeared to be a flying whale, a flotilla of smaller floating Grimm in tow.

His plan had failed.

[/]

Jane supposed that, in a perverse kind of way, it was better that things had ended that way compared to Forever Fall. She had grown powerful, more powerful than even her wildest fantasy that she had dared to dream back when she was a little girl with no Aura, swinging Crocea Mors at a training pell.

She had power enough to protect herself, to ensure that no one would ever _use _her as Cardin once had. After all, a choice between being a sobbing, broken girl lying naked and bleeding on the forest floor or laying a beatdown on the man that had so thoroughly annihilated her trust in him was really no choice at all. But more important than even her power was the fact that she was not alone.

She landed on the deck of the airship, where she met with Team RWBY. They had overcome their own would-be jailers, and now were spearheading the defense of Atlas. And so was Penny.

Jane knew as soon as she saw her. She smiled, approaching the robot girl, and brought her into an embrace, pressing their foreheads together. She ignored the slight clang of metal on bone, and felt the specific presence of Fria flare up in salutations.

"Hello again, sister. Ready to save the world?"

**[/]**

**Endnotes: I don't know how well this came out in comparison to the first part. I hadn't thought to explore the more recent trauma because I wasn't sure how to play it out in this story. WearyCurmudgeon's comment about Jane recovering her agency in sexual intimacy actually inspired me to write this one. Jane wasn't sexually-active with Pyrrhus because they just didn't have the time to for her to recover enough to do so.**

**How much time does it take? Well, every person is different. For me, I wasn't really of an age to be looking for a sexual partner the first time it happened to me, so a few years passed before I was an old enough teenager to even think to do so. Then, of course, being transgender makes everything way more difficult. And no, I'm not transgender because I was raped. If anything, I was raped because I'm transgender. I've had relationships of various degrees of intimacy and intensity between when the attacks of my youth stopped and this latest ex that sent me into a spiral, so I was able to work out my sexual control issues that way.**

**So, Weary mentioned that he didn't see any potential dudes to ship Jane with since Pyrrhus died, and that got me thinking. I remembered how uncomfortable Marrow's Semblance made me feel, and then that got the ball rolling, as you've seen.**

**The thing with this chapter is that no one was really surprised that Cardin was a scumbag. Someone PM'd me to ask if I thought Team CRDL would really go that far, to which I pointed out that they should look at what they were willing to do in **_**public**_**, and what that meant for what they might be willing to do if they thought they wouldn't be caught. But Marrow is a friendly, outgoing, law-abiding man. Coming from him, it would be so much worse, because you could trust him, right until you found out that you couldn't. Just like my ex-boyfriend.**

**It isn't a perfect fit. Marrow in this story didn't rape Jane, and he had an argument to be made for his actions. My ex-boyfriend tried to rape me. Ultimately, even the act itself wasn't as devastating as the absolute shattering of my trust, the destruction of my confidence in telling which man is or is not willing to hurt me, and the tearing open of scarred-over wounds that I've tried to heal, especially when it comes to distrusting and fearing men.**

**I want to love men. Really, I do. Why do you have to make it so hard for me to love you? What is it about me that just screams "here, abuse her and stomp all over her heart?"**

**I don't know how Jane recovers from here, because I don't know how **_**I **_**do. The only solace that I have is that, while I'm **_**emotionally**_** devastated, in **_**physical**_** terms, I beat the snot out of him. Bit him so hard his hand needed stitches, planted my heel in his cheekbone, and chased him out of my apartment. Incidentally, I recommend Jiu-jitsu and Wing Chun as fundamentals for women's self-defense. Jiu-jitsu helps mitigate men's strength and weight advantages, and can teach how to fight from your back, and Wing Chun helps teach where and how to target to make the most of strikes.**

**I don't want to be violent, but I had to be. I want to add "wife and mother" to my list of roles besides "librarian and amateur author," but I just… I don't know. How am I supposed to find the man I'm supposed to marry if even the seemingly good ones don't heed consent behind closed doors? And yes, I know, this isn't fair to men in general, but goddamn it, I keep getting hurt! If anything else, ranting, sharing it, and exploring those feelings in fiction helps.**

**Minor points to wrap up:**

**With Cinder dead in part 1, how did things go down in between in this AU? Dunno, don't care, they aren't really relevant to what I was doing here. A more fleshed-out fic would delve into it, but as I said before, this is more therapeutic for me.**

**There are probably continuity errors with when Team RWBY's fight with the Ace Ops and the battle in Mantle were. If you wanna pick 'em out, you're probably right. I literally can't be bothered to care. Sorry.**

**Would Jaune's Semblance really interact like that with Maiden powers? Dunno, but the bad guys had best be grateful that he's a man.**

**For Jane's Volume 7 armor, think something like Lightning's armor set from FFXIII-2. Impractical? Yep. Something a Huntress knight in Remnant might wear? Oh my, yes.**

**Okay, **_**now**_** I think I'm done. For realsies this time. Unless I somehow have a breakthrough, but honestly, if I'm fully recovered, I'll probably just start writing normal romances again. Thank you all for reading and for bearing with my hangups.**

**\- Mahina**


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